The Line of Aurelius
by Windblown.child
Summary: After Sunnydale was destroyed, Buffy didn't know how to go on. Angel does what he can for the slayer, but will it be enough to keep her alive. BS/A/S
1. May 30, 2003

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Buffy gladly let Giles and Xander steer her onto the bus, too overwhelmed to make any decisions. Now that all of the potentials were slayers, she simply could not continue as leader. As Watcher, Giles stepped up until a more permanent decision could be reached. Injured and exhausted, the ragtag band drove away from the crater, only one dirty face turned to look back.

She shouldn't have been surprised to recognize the LA skyline when she finally opened her eyes. Angel's was the safest and closest place they could go until they decided what to do next. But Buffy wasn't sure she was ready to see the vampire again. The blonde squeezed her green eyes shut and forced her mind away from painful thoughts of her lover.

Angel was waiting when they arrived, just on the edge of the sunbeam, concerned eyes darting from girl to girl until he spotted the familiar blonde. Buffy was the last one off the bus and the tall vampire reached into the sun when she came close enough. The pain was worth being able to touch the young woman sooner and he wrapped his arms around her. Buffy's scent was overlaid by sweat, and dust, mingled with tears and something else familiar.

"Is it over?" Angel tried not to sound too hopeful lest they only have another battle to fight.

Buffy nodded as best she could, crushed to his chest. "Completely."

Relief flooded the vampire. The only thing that mattered to him was the petite woman in his arms. Content to hear the full story later, Angel lead the exhausted and filthy slayer away from the crowded area and to his private room. Once showered and wrapped in his too large robe, Buffy fell into bed and pretended that none of it had happened.

* * *

Bolstered by their slayer healing, the potentials were soon on their feet and itching for the next assignment. One by one, the girls left for their old homes and foreign cities. There would always be people that needed saving so they scattered, looking for other slayers as they were revealed and defending those that couldn't. Faith and Robin were the last to leave, deciding New York could use some slaying. Eventually, the scooby gang was the only ones that were left.

Xander found another construction job and moved to Las Vegas, taking with him the memory of Anya. Willow could no longer put off the coven's requests and she joined them in Westburg. Andrew hesitated in his decision until Giles suggested he help rebuild the Watchers Council to support the new slayers. Dawn jumped at the idea and begged her sister to allow her to go to London as well and wasn't denied. Giles bade Buffy farewell and returned once more for the UK with his young charges.

Angel carefully watched the blonde slayer as her friends left one at a time. Since arriving in LA, Buffy interacted little and spoke less. She let others tell the story of the final battle and gave no opinion on things she would have cared about before. He knew she was stressed and hurt by having to sacrifice so many girls, but it killed him to see the young woman so crushed.

Then there was a conversation he had with Giles a few days after they arrived and as little as Angel wanted to admit it, he knew it was the key.

"Angel? I wanted to thank you."

"There's no need for that. Everyone is welcome here as long as they need." Angel was still uncomfortable around the watcher after what he did after his soul was lost years ago.

"I don't mean for the shelter - well I do. But I specifically wanted to thank you for what you did before, bringing Buffy the amulet." Giles took off his glasses and began polishing them out of habit.

"Just doing what I could. Luckily the brat made it work." Being told he wasn't meant to use the amulet still stung.

"Yes, Spike did make it work."

"I never did hear who he pissed off enough to get cursed with a soul, though."

Giles looked up sharply, glasses at his side. "He wasn't cursed with a soul. Spike got it back on his own."

"Why on Earth would he do that?" Angel was shocked and incredulous at the information. No vampire in their right mind would choose to regain their soul.

"He did it for Buffy." The watcher stated matter of factly and replaced his glasses before leaving the office.

His first thought was one of possessive anger. Buffy was his and his alone. Spike had always been an insolent childe, proving himself against two slayers and always following after Drusilla. The part of him that was Angelus wanted to rise to the surface and track down the blond vampire. Only the realization that Spike had done what Angelus never could brought him back to himself.

Watching Buffy sleep, tears still drying on her cheeks, Angel knew that he would always love her. Even when Angelus was free, he couldn't bring himself to kill her outright. There was something special about the blonde slayer that made him forgive his childe despite knowing The platinum blond would always have a place in her heart. Spike was the one that sacrificed so much for her when Angel had always been the one to run away.


	2. May 30, 2004

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

If his heart still beat, it would have stopped the moment he opened his eyes and Buffy was nowhere in the room. In the weeks since she arrived, she showed no interest in spending time with any of the other investigators or hunting in the city and Angel panicked. Without bothering with a robe or pants, he followed her scent to the stairs, all the way to the roof. The door opened easily and the vampire caught sight of Buffy standing by the edge before the burning rays of sun forced him back into the stairwell. Hearing the clatter of the door, the slayer turned away from the rising sun and met Angel in the shadows, slipping easily into his arms.

"Hey, everything alright?" Unsurprisingly, she didn't voice her answer, only shrugged against his chest.

"How about we go out tonight?" Another shrug.

"Get a decent meal, maybe a walk on the beach?" Buffy started to shrug but she stopped and nodded instead.

That night, Angel kept his word, making sure there would be no cases before escorting Buffy into the night. He had been prepared to make idle conversation, not expecting any responses, but the blonde surprised him by keeping up her end of the talking. Dinner passed agreeably with no mention of Sunnydale, Hellmouths, or slaying and Buffy seemed more like herself. While ordering ice cream, the tall vampire forced himself to ignore that her smile never reached her eyes.

Several minutes of good-natured wheedling got Buffy walking barefoot through the surf, one hand in Angel's. Nothing about the silence surrounding them was forced until they neared one of the many piers scattered along the beach. Waves licked at their ankles and the vampire made a split second decision, leaning down to press his lips against the blonde's. Buffy hesitated for just a moment before gently returning the kiss. A traitorous part of Angel's mind whispered that she was thinking of Spike before she pulled back slightly.

"I love you, Angel."

All of his fears seemed unfounded and melted away as he kissed her again. Just as he wished the moment would never end, a scream rose above the waves and was abruptly cut off. Instantly, the pair was running towards the shelter of the pier, drawing stakes from their clothes. The fight itself hardly lasted at all, leaving a whimpering girl in the sand and Buffy covered with dust. Angel hesitated in touching the blonde upon seeing the hard edge to her green eyes.

Something changed in the petite slayer after that night and Angel was helpless as he watched it happen. Buffy began spending more time on the roof, always at the same spot, looking out over the city. And then when the vampire went to look for her, she was never there. Hours later, the blonde would slip in through the sewers smelling like sweat and dust and blood.

Weeks passed and every day, Angel would see less and less of the slayer, only to be surprised by how much longer her hair was. It went on until she didn't come back for an entire day. The vampire frantically searched the city, following her scent until it crossed and double crossed too many times to follow. But Buffy always returned unharmed but was unapologetic for the worry she had caused.

A single day gone turned into a week without word from the slayer. Angel spent every moment he wasn't working cases to track the blonde, only to arrive hours or minutes after she had left. There were always demon corpses or piles of dust marking her wake, but if Buffy didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. Eventually, she always came back, slipping into his bed damp from a shower or jumping unexpectedly into a fight. Until the day he knew she wouldn't be coming back.

Angel woke at sunset to the soft sound of humming and spotted Buffy entering his room with her hands full. She realized he was awake and brought a mug and plate to the bed. Grateful, the vampire took the mug of warm blood and sipped as the blonde ate her eggs.

"What's the occasion?"

Buffy shrugged carelessly. "Just felt like it."

There was something unsaid and Angel waited for the other shoe to drop. "You seem cheerful today."

Another shrug. "Why not?"

The vampire finished his breakfast and studied her profile. It had been more than a year since he had seen her so chipper and it worried him. When Buffy finished and got up, taking his mug, Angel realized what day it was. One year since the battle against the First. One year since Sunnydale was destroyed. One year since Spike died. He knew that when she left, she wouldn't ever be coming back and it hurt.

It was easy enough to excuse himself into the shower with an 'I love you' thrown over his shoulder. But Angel knew that the moment he turned the water off, Buffy would already be gone. Feeling the spray across his shoulders turn steadily colder, he was able to pretend for a few more minutes that the blonde slayer would still be puttering around the room. Finally he accepted that he would never be able to give her the life she needed, no matter how much he would give to do so. When he stepped out, Buffy was gone, her scent already beginning to fade.

* * *

Angel felt like he was drowning despite not needing to breathe. It wasn't the sudden unbalance of having a rug pulled from under his feet. More a constant rolling lurch like missing the last stair at the bottom. Buffy had been his harbor in the dark for so long, he didn't know how to swim alone. He knew it was only fair that she leave him, but the emptiness made the vampire want to walk into the sunrise.

He wanted to feel close to Buffy as night gave way to twilight and steadily climbed the stairs to the roof. She had spent so much time staring out across the city, Angel had begun to think of it as her spot. Hand on the door, the tall vampire wondered what made that spot special and knew she would never tell.

250 years of living as a vampire instilled a strong will to survive and even Buffy leaving him wasn't worth walking into the sun, but something drove him to the roof. Just for a quick look before the sun's rays became too dangerous. The door opened easily, revealing the last of the stars fading from the sky before something else caught the investigator's eye.

A naked man lay on the coarse gravel covering the roof, pressed close to the wall and arms wrapped protectively around his head. For several long moments, Angel was too stunned to move. It wouldn't be easy for anyone to get to the roof without coming through the hotel and the way the man was trembling left little concern he had climbed the building. As the sky began to turn from purple to blue, the vampire shrugged out of his jacket and tucked it around the stranger.

Once covered, he rolled the trembling man away from the wall and jumped back in surprise. The unconscious stranger was unmistakably his grand-childe, Spike. Sunlight began to smoke across his bare skin and Angel contemplated leaving the thin vampire to burn. Almost instantly, he changed his mind and scooped Spike up and ducked into the safety of the stairwell.

* * *

Spike's head lolled against his shoulder and he realized several things in rapid succession. He was naked and sitting on a metal stool, arms handcuffed behind his back to a wooden beam, and someone was watching him from the shadows. The vampire tried to peer into the darkness, making out the shape of a tall man when he recognized his captor.

"Sire?" The blond tested the handcuffs but wouldn't struggle until he knew what was going on. "Angel?"

The vampire master stepped into view, arms crossed over his chest. Spike's gaze was open and almost relieved. "I can honestly say I'm glad to see you."

Angel didn't immediately speak and Spike fidgeted on his seat. "What do you remember?"

The blond's eyebrows furrowed and his gaze slipped towards the floor in concentration before shooting back up to the older brunet's face. "Buffy. The seal. What happened?"

The investigator kept his voice even. "That was a year ago."

"And Buffy?"

"She's gone." For half a moment, Angel soaked up the defeated look in his childe's eyes and considered letting him believe the young woman was dead but he took pity on Spike. "She's alive."

Spike's blue eyes filled with hope and he sat up straighter. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't be." The brunet pulled over another chair and sat down to tell the story of the last year.

Silence spiraled between the vampires when the tale was done, each lost in their own thoughts of the blonde slayer. Angel couldn't pretend he didn't know his childe had feelings for Buffy, despite his jealousy. "If I let you go, what would you do?"

"I want to see the crater. Maybe there's some sign of what brought me back."

"There won't be if its who I think it is."

Spike sighed unnecessarily. "Still wan' to see it."

"And then?" Angel was reluctant to release William The Bloody on the world again if that was his plan.

"Maybe I'll take a leaf out of your book."

The brunet wasn't sure which leaf that would be, but it was as close to a commitment he would ever get. "I'll find you some clothes. There's some blood in the fridge." Angel unlocked the handcuffs and tossed them aside before leaving.

* * *

The peroxide blond vampire stood at the edge of the crater and stared out into the void. All sign of Sunnydale was gone in the rubble. He hated and loved the city but owed it so much. Without the events that took place there, he would still be drifting around the world with Drucilla, or staked by some slayer. No matter how much it hurt to have a soul, he couldn't regret it, not really.

Spike climbed back into Angel's car and left the crater. That chapter of his long life was over and all he had to decide was where to start the next. As miles slipped by, the vampire imagined ways of tracking down the blonde slayer and all the places she could have gone. He would start in LA and follow her to the ends of the earth until he found her. Their last words echoed in his head, repeating over and over until he pounded his hand on the steering wheel to silence the memory.

"I love you."

"No you don't. But thanks for saying it."

He could have accepted those words the night before the battle, could have believed something in her heart had melted as she lay in his arms. But if he had accepted her love while the power of the amulet coursed through him, he could never sacrifice himself. Only one thought kept Spike from driving the car off a bridge and that was that he was back for a reason.

Angel was shocked when his blond childe walked into the office and handed back the car keys before settling heavily in a chair. Spike didn't kick his feet up on the desk or immediately pull out a cigaret. He just sat as if his limbs were too heavy to do anything else. The sire followed suit and pushed away the file he had been reading.


	3. July 6, 2004

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Returning to London was a balm to Giles' soul. There was nothing that a good cup of tea couldn't fix, even the destruction of virtually everything he had ever known. Several cups of tea later, and the watcher was ready to begin rebuilding. The handful of watchers that managed to survive the Bringers' attacks trickled in and soon a new council was formed on the ruins of the old.

Before many months had passed, a system emerged from the chaos where new watchers were being trained and the existing slayers were supervised from afar. But the rules had changed at Sunnydale High and the watchers had to adapt. Slayers were no longer called one at a time, but rather when they turned 15 and they had a choice to use their strengths or to live a normal life. As the most senior remaining Watcher, he was still attuned to the magics that heralded the calling of a new slayer.

Rupert sat bolt upright in bed, the crushing weight of knowledge washing over him like a rising flood. A new slayer was called and in his half asleep mind, he knew that something had happened to the previous slayer. Buffy had to have been killed for the next to be called. Out of habit, he put on the kettle and waited for the water to boil. Tea in hand, Giles sat and considered the news.

Only after an hour had passed and his tea was gone did the watcher realize he was completely mistaken. The old slayer needn't die for the next to be called any longer. In his sleep addled state he had simply assumed the worst. Giles laughed wearily at his foolishness and rubbed his brow. Of course nothing had happened to Buffy, another potential had simply turned 15 and triggered part of the old magics. But part of him wanted to hear her voice.

The phone was picked up on the third ring despite the late hour. "'Ello?"

Giles had not expected the unfamiliar voice on Angel's private number. "Who is this? I need to speak to Angel."

"Rupes?" The stranger on the phone sounded surprised and slightly wary.

"Yes, this is Rupert Giles and I need to talk to Angel." He removed his glasses and sighed away from the receiver.

"Peaches is out right now."

"Peaches? Who is this?" Giles demanded, forcing the fear of losing Buffy down.

"Now Rupes, I'm shocked you don't remember me." In LA, the blond vampire couldn't resist teasing the watcher.

"Spike? But how did you get out of the Hellmouth?"

The voice on the other end of the line was deadly serious. "I didn't."

Giles couldn't think of anything to say, mentally listing the ways a dead creature could communicate via phone.

"I know you're thinking of all the ways I could be a ghost, but I'm not. Angel found me on the roof of the hotel and I've been here ever since." Spike sounded almost bored at the explanation.

In the background, Rupert heard a door open and someone talking before shuffling filled the line. The sound died down and Angel had the phone. "What's up Giles?"

"Is Spike really back?"

"Unfortunately."

"And has he been causing any trouble?"

"Nothing serious. Just the usual insults. He's actually been helping out quite a lot." The vampire grudgingly admitted.

"And what does Buffy think of that?"

Giles was afraid the call had cut out for a moment before Angel spoke again. "She doesn't know."

"How can she not know?"

"She left a few hours before I found him."

"What do you mean, left? When?" Rupert let Ripper sound in his voice, demanding an explanation.

"A year after the battle. She had been drifting away and she just never came back." Angel sighed.

"Why haven't you found her?" The watcher's voice rose with each word.

"You know Buffy, if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be."

Ripper almost snarled down the line. "You shouldn't have let her go."

Angel growled back. "What should I have done? Kept her chained in my basement? I love her too much to force her to stay."

"Well you should have done something!"

"And what about you? You left her here like baggage when you ran off to London!" The subtle change in Angel's voice betrayed his shift to fully vampire. "Again."

Before Giles could respond, Spike spoke up in the background. "Shouting isn't helping, Peaches. Give me the phone." A brief struggle and the blond got the handset away from Angel. "He has a point, Rupes."

"Like you can talk."

Spike turned from civil to downright dangerous in a split second. "Yes, I can. I was the one that died for her, remember? And I would do it again."

Giles sobered at the vampire's words. "I'll have Willow and the Coven find her."

"You do that." The bleach blond vampire hung up the phone.

Angel roared in fury and tore a filing cabinet away from the wall. The younger man merely watched the anger bleed away and his sire collapsed into a chair. No one came to see what the ruckus was about and the vampires were grateful. Spike laid his hand on the brunet's shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"We'll find her."

* * *

"Good Morning, Giles."

"Hello Willow. Any luck with the locating spell?"

"Well, I'm not sure you would call it luck. I did the spell on the US and I found everywhere Buffy's been in the last year, but I couldn't tell when she was there or where she is now." The witch's almost innocent nervousness was clear even over the phone.

"What about the rest of the world?" Rupert poured another cup of tea and contemplated adding a splash of whiskey.

"It looks like she was in London, Paris, and Rome at some point. Oh and Rio de Janeiro."

"She was in London?" The watcher couldn't contain his surprize that the blonde had been so near but didn't contact him.

"I know, I can't believe she didn't come to see you." Willow wondered if they would even recognize the slayer if they saw her.

"Buffy must be looking for something."

"But what?"

"I have no idea. See if you can find a pattern or discern when she was in each city." Giles put the whiskey away unopened.

"Ok, I'll see if anyone else in the Coven can think of anything too."

"Thank you for doing this, Willow."

"Of course, anything for Buffy. I'll call you tomorrow with any news."

"Good luck."

* * *

Rupert wearily picked up his phone, trying to get out a greeting around a jaw cracking yawn.

"Giles, sorry it's so early, but I couldn't wait."

"Willow? Did you find something?" The watcher perked up.

"I sorta did."

The witch seemed ready to go off on one of her tangents but the Englishman cut her off. "Just tell me what you found."

"Oh - Ok, it's not really what we were hoping for. I mean it-it should help, but it's not Buffy's location."

"What did you find, Willow?" Even years out of high school, the witch never changed.

"Well, since I can't get a lock on her actual location, I found a spell that shows that she's alive." The phone was silent for several long moments and Willow hesitated again. "So we don't have to worry so much while we look for her."

Giles felt completely exhausted again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank you Willow, that's quite helpful."

"I just thought it was something since none of the covin can find Buffy. Astral Projection isn't even working." The witch was rapidly working herself up over the thought if failing her mentor and friend.

"It's fine, really. Keep looking and let me know if anything changes."

* * *

Days became weeks, and weeks became months as they all searched for any way to find the wayward slayer. The only sign that Buffy was alive and well was the rose Willow charmed. The flower was lit with an ethereal blue flame as long as the blonde was alive and the witch never let it out of her sight. As she studied the unwilting flower, Willow wondered if the slayer was actively avoiding their attempts to locate her. And if she was, why.

Willow kicked off her covers and prepared to spend another day pouring over scrolls and tomes hoping to find some way to locate her friend. Only when she was halfway to the bathroom did she realize the usual blue glow from her bedside table was absent. Instead of a flaming bloom, wilted petals littered the desk and the fire was extinguished. Dread, the likes of which she hadn't experienced since watching Tara collapse flooded through the petite witch.

Twenty minutes later, a hysterical witch was on the phone to London, trying to make the watcher understand what happened. After what seemed like hours of hiccups, sobs, and blown noses, the severity of what Willow was saying sunk in. The rose going out could mean only one thing. The slayer death wish had finally gotten the better of Buffy. Giles took several hours to compose himself with mugs of tea and whiskey before calling to LA.

"This is Angel."

"It's me, Giles. Is Spike with you?"

"Yeah, do you need to talk to him?" The blond looked up from his selection of jelly beans when he heard his name.

"Not really. I just thought you should both hear this."

"What happened, Rupes?" The younger vampire leaned over his sire's shoulder to listen better.

The watcher sighed heavily. "You are aware that the Coven and the Council has been searching for a way to locate Buffy."

"And you've had bupkis to show for it."

"Shut up, Spike." Angel snapped automatically.

"I'm afraid he's right." Giles removed his glasses. "The best we have been able to do is set up a sort of marker, linked to Buffy."

Angel scowled and nodded. "You told us that before. That flame will burn until something happens to her."

"It went out last night." Rupert hesitated for a moment, unsure what the two powerful creatures might do in their grief. "I'm sorry."

Neither vampire answered as they hung up the phone. Consciously, they were aware of the blonde slayer's mortality but somehow they never came to accept that one day she might really die. Her strength and stubbornness had instilled in them the belief that she could never be defeated. Buffy would never allow something so mundane as death stop her.

Spike seethed with anger after the watcher's phone call. He wanted to destroy and kill whatever had hurt his lively Buffy. But he also blamed himself for not finding her first, not protecting her like he did in Sunnydale even before she welcomed his presence. There had to have been something he could have done differently or done better so she could still be there with him. The peroxide blond vampire left the office, careful not to break anything in his anger.

Angel didn't shout or trash his office, he didn't scowl or cry, he calmly left his office and dropped down into the sewers. The trip was familiar and the brunet was soon knocking on Lilah's office door. At the sight of the hard look in the vampire's eyes, she dismissed the administrator she had been lecturing.

The lawyer didn't bother to return to her desk as soon as the door had been shut. "What happened?"

"I need to find someone."

The lack of emotions in the tall man's voice sent shivers down her spine. "Who?"

"A woman. Blonde, green eyes, 5'4, mid 20's, and might be using the name Anne. No tattoos. Scar on the right side of her neck." Angel tried to think of any other aspects to help narrow the search. "Check coroner reports in the last 24 hours, and international reports if you can."

Lilah nodded and wrote down the information. "Who is she?"

The vampire was gone before she could read his face and a weight settled in her stomach. Whoever Anne was, she was important to the investigator and he thought she was dead. Lilah ignored the case file she had been pouring over and started typing at her computer.

Spike held on to the anger, drew on it to remember times when he was free to do as he pleased. The thrill of stalking prey and the stench of fear when he leaned in close. How the blood felt splashing hotly over his tongue. He wanted to feel the power he once had over every living thing that crossed his path. Until he met Buffy.

"What happens Saturday?"

"I kill you."

The bleach blond vampire stared around the club, eyes flicking from one sweating body to the next. Time was he would have his pick of the cattle, but now he couldn't even think of them as food. She had taken away that pleasure but offered him so much more in exchange. Spike turned back to his drink as a flash of long blonde hair caught his eye. Another glance and it was gone.


	4. September 23, 2004

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

"It wasn't this hard last time." Spike was sprawled in the chair he had claimed as his, turning a glass of blood in his hands.

"What wasn't?" Angel mirrored his childe's pose, glass already empty.

"Knowing she was gone." The blond pushed the blood away on the side table, undrunk.

"I don't want to believe it."

"You think Red's spell went wrong?" A glimmer of hope flashed in his blue eyes before it faded again. "I can't imagine she messed this one up. She's come a long way since the engagement fiasco."

"Who's engagement?" The older vampire wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more stories from Sunnydale, but it was better than silence.

"Me and Buffy." Spike scoffed humorlessly. "Never did get my sodding ring back either."

Angel bristled but forced it down. Jealous or not, he could allow the blond his own grief. "I would never have the courage to propose."

"I know it was all a spell, but I remember exactly how real it felt." Spike traced the pad of one finger over his bottom lip. "I honestly missed it when she was just using me."

The brunet closed his eyes and couldn't help picturing his golden goddess curled up in his grand-childe's lap, playing with the rings on his hand. "She's beautiful in white."

"And black. Or red." Spike suddenly frowned. "She was wearing cream the last time I saw her."

Silence fell between the vampires, each locked in their own thoughts until the blond spoke up again. "I bloody watched her die last time but this is a hundred times worse!"

"Because we don't know what happened."

"I wouldn't fight you for her." Spike's voice was small and sad. "Because it would mean she was ok."

Angel couldn't formulate a response. He almost wished for the simpler times when they didn't have their souls. The only thing that mattered then was the blood. Blood and each other, a regular family, Darla, Drusilla, and Spike. Almost.

* * *

Word reached them that a demon bar had started serving blood fresh from the vein. A delicacy in a city where feeding on humans was swiftly punished. Angel had long turned a blind eye when it was willing donations, but occasionally he and Spike had to liberate an unlucky transient.

Angel migrated towards the bar while Spike tended to drift towards the back. There was always a good chance of finding a game of poker in the seedier places. Poised for action or talking, the peroxide blond pushed open the door and peeked through the gap before slipping inside.

"Got quite a treat for our hematologically inclined guests." The scabby bartender waggled his eyebrows at the tall vampire. "Limited draught, very high quality."

"What's the source?" Angel asked, trying to sound bored.

The demon tapped the side of his nose and winked. "Only the very freshest for our patrons."

Before he could make his question more clear, a faint but unmistakable sensation of shock and horror prodded at his mind. Angel instinctively looked towards the back room and his childe. Something had taken the experienced vampire by surprise and Spike was furious. The brunet scowled at the bartender and withdrew a stake from his jacket.

Angel wasn't sure what he expected when he kicked open the door but it certainly wasn't the tableau laid out before him. A Cthulhu-esque demon lay on the floor, head twisted around and another leaned against a far wall, skull crushed. In the center of the room were several glass jugs of blood. One jug was only half full and a plastic tube snaked from the mouth, up a partially reclined operating table, and into a pale arm.

Spike was snarling in rage as he dropped the pulped demon and turned back to the table. The woman laying on it was barely alive, drained to the point that her skin was papery and translucent. Her heart barely had enough blood left to keep pumping. As gently as he could, the blond slipped the needle from her arm when the door was kicked in. Only the unmistakable presence of his sire stopped the younger vampire from automatically defending the unconscious woman.

"Spike, what is it?" Angel came around the table and froze. "Buffy?"

His sensitive hearing told Spike that even in the few moments since he entered the room, her heart was slowing. Panic seized the vampire as he struggled for a solution. Even with her slayer strength, she would never make it to the street, let alone a hospital. Without a second thought, the peroxide blond bit into his own wrist and brought it towards Buffy's mouth.

"No!" Angel snatched his bloody wrist away. "You can't do it."

"Would you rather let her die?"

"This isn't the answer."

Spike wrenched free and growled low in his chest. "She doesn't have time and I'm not losing her."

Angel didn't stop him when he raised his wrist to Buffy's lips but she was too weak to move. "Please, love, just a swallow." Spike pressed the wound to her mouth and begged. "I know you're strong enough, take a nibble."

Blood dribbled from the corner of the slayer's lips but she didn't even twitch. Desperate to save the blonde woman, the vampire tore at his wrist again and drew a mouthful of blood. He kissed Buffy and forced the thick fluid between her lips, stroking her throat until she swallowed. Hope renewed, Spike drank from his own wrist again, passing the blood to her.

He repeated the motion until the wound barely dribbled and he still tried to press another mouthful on to the slayer. Finally, Angel's firm hands on his shoulders stopped him and steered him to sit on a crate. The brunet looked sadly from one blonde to the other.

"Oh Spike, what have we done?"

Buffy's blood starved heart beat once, twice, and stilled. Spike couldn't look at the unnaturally still corpse of the love of his unlife on the table. He hid his face in his hands and wiped the blood from his lips. The thin vampire wished he had been earlier and could have given her more.

Angel had to carry Buffy's cooling body to the car despite his childe's protests. Spike could barely stand on his own, let alone manage the slayer's dead weight. Just thinking the words twisted the master vampire's stomach. He felt like he was in a dream, swimming through the air and expecting to wake up at any moment. But as the canvas roof slid into place, he knew it wasn't a dream.

* * *

Angel didn't want to leave Spike alone with Buffy's limp form, but the peroxide blond had drained their supply of blood replenishing himself and the slayer would need to feed when she awoke. Only the knowledge that fledglings took several hours to wake gave him the strength to leave his childe. All the way to their very understanding late night butcher, the brunet tried not to think about Buffy's awakening.

Being reborn a vampire introduced a demon into the blood and no one knew better than Angel the damage that demon could cause. Pain and torment were always on the forefront of the demon's mind, twisting the personality of the original person until it was no longer recognizable. Angelus had taken his father's cruel words and demeaning insults to heart and returned it tenfold on the world. Spike's swagger and sensual nature derived from William's romantic notions and sensitive heart. But there was no knowing how Buffy's strength and righteous heart would be twisted by the demon.

When he returned, Angel found Spike kneeling by the sofa, carefully brushing Buffy's long blonde hair. The thin vampire didn't look fully recovered from his blood loss but saved his last glass of blood for the slayer. There were occasions that the older vampire disbelieved Spike's claims of love and devotion, but then he would do something completely selfless.

"Finish that."

"It's all we have left."

Angel stored the blood in the refrigerator. "I got more."

Shakily, Spike complied with his sire's command and drained the glass before turning back to the woman laying perfectly still on the furniture. He tenderly held her hand but couldn't face the way her chest didn't rise and fall with breath and no pulse thrummed in her neck. Angel let a heavy hand fall on the peroxide blond's shoulder.

"You have to be prepared for her to be different."

"I don't care." Even if she woke with a taste for eating kittens, Spike wouldn't leave her again.

"You should lay down, it's close to dawn." The younger vampire shook his head. "She won't wake until sundown."

Spike kept a loyal vigil by Buff's side through the entire day, rising only to retrieve a damp cloth to clean the puncture in her arm. Angel couldn't stand the waiting and left the room when he woke but returned before sunset. As the darkest hours ticked by, nothing changed in the still woman and the vampires let out the unnecessary breaths they had been holding.

The pattern repeated itself twice more when Spike began to give in to dread and panic. Fledglings always rose within a day or two but Buffy hadn't changed in three. So certain that she would rise, he couldn't contemplate losing her now even as he began to accept that something may have gone wrong. Perhaps he had been too late, or he had ruined the ritual by feeding the blood to her. He forced the traitorous thoughts away and watched.

At first, neither vampire noticed when a change began in the young woman. Spike startled when he realized the hand he had been holding was squeezing back. Every muscle in the slayer's body was slowly tightening with brutal strength. It took Angel's help to get his hand away before the delicate bones snapped under the pressure. They watched Buffy's back arch off the couch as if in an incredibly slow seizure when it suddenly released.

Neither of the vampires had made armies of minions but they had seen enough changes to know something was wrong. The convulsion started again, faster than the first, throwing Buffy's head to the side as she clawed at the upholstery. Angel gripped a wooden stake as the blonde woman began to shake and thrash in earnest. Spike, however, threw himself at the sofa and restrained her hands as he sat on her legs.

"Get off her, Spike." Angel took a step closer, all of the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"What?" The blond looked dumbly at the stake in his grand-sire's hand. "You're not going to. You couldn't."

"She won't be right and you know it." Another step towards the sofa.

Spike instinctively leaned over the trembling woman, covering her heart with his own. "Just give her a chance."

"There's no knowing if she'll even be Buffy."

Spike's voice dropped dangerously low. "I will walk into the sun before I let you hurt her."

Angel prepared to snarl back but the younger vampire looked away, attention drawn to the suddenly limp form beneath him. Apart from her mussed hair and rumpled clothes, she showed no sign of having moved. Spike slipped off the couch and straightened her shirt, eyes never leaving her face. The brunet lowered the weapon but didn't put it away as he watched the smaller vampire tend to Buffy.

"You have to wake up, pet." Spike held one of her hands and stroked her cheek. "Come back to us, Buffy."

As a reward, her eyes fluttered and opened before focusing. "Spike?" She glanced around in confusion. "Angel?"

At the sound of her soft voice, the brunet slipped the stake out of sight and stood behind his childe. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Her eyes began to slip shut again. "Hungry."

"Hey, don't fall asleep yet. Angel will get you something to drink."

At the pointed comment the older vampire jumped to obey, returning in moments with a mug and straw. "Drink this, you'll feel better."

Buffy drained the mug and relaxed into the cushions before frowning in realization. "Spike? I thought you died."

"I'll tell you all about it when you're better." He kissed her hand sweetly. "Sleep."

Obediently, Buffy closed her eyes. Despite the absolute stillness of her body, Spike relaxed. "See, she's completely fine."

Angel only glowered at the younger vampire, arms crossed over his chest. "You shouldn't have done it. Who knows what you've turned her into."

Spike launched to his full height, despite being several inches shorter than his sire. "You would have rather let her bloody well die in that bar?"

"We mourned her, now it will be that much harder to let her go again."

"Who says we have to let her go? Buffy's fine."

"You stupid child!" Angel spat and dropped his crossed arms. "It's the same as your mother."

The blond punched the taller man as hard as he could in the jaw but Angel didn't stop talking. "Will you be able to stake Buffy when she starts telling you truths you'd rather not hear?"

Spike struck out again but Angel blocked him. "You know the demon twists who people were." Another blow and the brunet retaliated, catching the smaller man in the solar plexus. "It will sound like Buffy, but she'll use you and hurt you."

A sweep of the older vampire's leg and Spike went down. "You'll wish it had been like before."

The blond lurched to his knees and headbutted Angel in the stomach. "And the worst part is, you'll let her. You'll come begging for more."

Using all of his body weight, the brunet slung his childe against a pillar and ground his cheek into the rough wood. "Until she tires of you and throws you away."

Spike grunted in pain at the sharp punch to his kidney but stilled the moment he felt the point of a stake at his back. "You think you could take all that with a soul?"

"Angel, don't hurt him!" Buffy had been woken by their fighting and could barely sit up.

"Why? So you can have all the fun?" Angel snarled before he could think about the words.

The blonde slayer looked devastated, like she had been slapped. "I could never hurt him again."

Her wide eyes and tiny voice drained all of the fury out of the brunet and he dropped the stake. Spike slid away from the pillar and knelt by the sofa again. "How do you feel, pet?"

"The same." Buffy gently touched the split in his lip. "What happened?"

"Peaches and I were just having a chat." The blond couldn't resist kissing the finger still pressed to his lips.

Two mugs came into view, a peace offering from Angel. "We have something to tell you before you fall asleep again."

"I feel like I've been asleep for days." The slayer took one of the mugs but hesitated as she caught sight of the contents. "Oh."

Spike waited for angry demands of explanations, but she just stared into the dark fluid. "I had to. You were dieing."

To their surprise, she shrugged and raised the mug. "How long?"

"It took you almost 4 days to rise." Angel studied the young woman as if expecting a neon sign to explain everything. "Something went wrong."

"That's what you were fighting about." It wasn't a question and Buffy considered the half empty mug, licking her lips. "Interesting."

Spike finished his own meal and focused on his new childe. "So... You're not mad?"

Buffy drained her mug and shrugged again. "Should I be? You did what you thought you had to and I don't feel any different."

Angel and Spike shared a look as the slayer leaned back on the sofa. "I guess I won't be able to keep up a tan, but that's ok."

* * *

"Hey, Buffy?"

"Yeah, what's up, Angel?"

"How are you?"

"Fine. Why?" The blonde continued to dance around the punching bag, landing solid blows.

"I just wanted to see how you were adjusting." The brunet shuffled his feet nervously.

Buffy spared him a glance but returned to training. "It's nice having a place to stay, not having to move all the time."

"I meant about the whole, you know, turning you thing."

"Not really much to adjust to." The blonde snatched up a towel and wiped her face. "Didn't particularly like fire before and getting stabbed in the heart has always been a hazard, so really I just have to remember to stay out of the sun." She picked up a jump rope. "Oh - wait - I already spend most of my time working at night, so no problem."

Angel sighed. "You know this isn't right."

"What isn't? That I don't seem to be freaked out about it like you and Spike?" She glanced around. "Where is he anyway?"

"I sent him out."

"It's 2 in the afternoon."

"He took the sewers." Angel shook his head. "That's not the point. Don't distract me."

Hands on hips, Buffy straightened to her full height and silently cursed being so short. "Then what is the point? What's done is done and there's nothing we can do to change it."

"But you're not acting right."

"I can't be any more clear about it, Angel." The slayer tossed the jump rope aside. "I don't feel any different. I don't want to maim or kill or bite to feed. I don't even feel any stronger, which is a bit of a letdown."

"That's not all being a vampire is." The tall brunet stalked towards her. "It's about letting go and really feeling. It's about taking pleasure and a little bit of pain."

Buffy felt the wall behind her, solid like the broad chest of her former lover advancing towards her. He planted his hands on either side of her head and leaned in close, tracing his lips across her cheek. "Innocence is a thing to be savored as it's torn away."

The blonde felt his face shift as she gave him access to her neck but before he could touch her skin with his teeth, Buffy twisted her fingers in his hair and yanked hard. Angel arched his neck but didn't pull away. Using her grip on his hair and one hand on his hip, the slayer leaned up to taste his collarbone and throat.

"The thing is," Buffy whispered seductively. "I was already good at that. Just ask Spike."

She playfully bit the older vampire's throat and was shocked that her teeth sunk into the cool flesh easily. Angel lept back, touching the mark, fingers coming away wet with blood. Buffy knocked her head against the wall and brought shaky hands to her face. Nothing felt out of place and her first instinct was to run to a mirror and check for lumpies before she remembered she would never see her reflection again.

Angel pulled her small hands away and stared at the fledgling vampire's face. Buffy's green eyes had gone vicious yellow, but her face was unchanged. Hesitantly, the brunet used his thumb to expose her teeth, instantly recognizing the sharp incisors.

"I think we need to see Giles."


	5. October 4, 2004

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Rupert poured his cup of tea and relaxed back in his chair. The counsel was running smoothly, new watcher training was going well, several new acquisitions for the library had been made, and the Coven supported his suggestion of implementing witch companions for the slayers. All in all, a very full and satisfying day.

Unbidden, a sweet young face rose in his memory and the Englishman had to replace his cup in its saucer as his hands began to shake. Even four months since Willow made that tearful phone call, Giles could not escape the memory of his slayer. She had been stubborn and bullheaded, but sweet and caring in a way he had never seen in a person before. Buffy was the definition of slayer in her conviction to do good and save the world. There was nothing he would not do for the young woman. But he was too late now.

She was gone and the watcher had the sudden desire to call Angel. He may not have approved of the vampire when they met, and his alter ego was decidedly unpleasant, but he was completely devoted to the blonde slayer. Giles would even be willing to talk to Spike, despite being unable to accept they had ever been together without the influence of a spell. The younger vampire confused him, yet he grudgingly respected the man and his sacrifice. They had not spoken since he told them Buffy was dead.

Tea finished, Giles weighed the pros and cons of having another cup. He still had not made up his mind when the doorbell rang. Out of habit, Rupert kept a stake on hand out of sight as he opened the heavy wooden door. As if summoned by his thoughts, Angel and Spike stood motionless on the threshold. Even knowing the vampires and marginally trusting them, the watcher thought they looked rather intimidating all in black and long coats.

Realizing he was staring, Giles put the stake back in its spot on the wall. "Angel, Spike, I wasn't expecting you."

"We needed to see you." The brunet looked deadly serious.

"Oh-of course, come in, please." The watcher held the door open as the pair entered.

"Now Rupes, this might be a bit of a surprise, but don't freak out." Spike didn't miss the slight twitch of the human's eye at the nickname. "There's someone you need to see."

In tandem, the vampires stepped to the side and revealed their third companion. Giles' eyes went wide at the sight of the blonde slayer on the threshold, sure she was an apparition. "Buffy?"

"Hi Giles."

The watcher carefully reached out one hand and touched her shoulder, expecting to pass right through her. When he felt only a solid body under his fingers, he pulled her into a tight embrace. "Goodness Buffy, I thought you were dead."

"I know, that was my fault." The blonde looked contrite.

"How do you mean?"

"As touching as this is, maybe we could do this inside?" Spike looked pointedly at the watcher. "Lettin' in a draft."

"Yes, of course, come in. I'll make tea." Rupert stood out of the way for Buffy to enter. "Perhaps sandwiches? Or do you need anything?" He looked at the two pale men. "I always keep some - on hand, just in case."

Angel was touched that even years later, the Englishman would keep blood in his house for vampires in another country. "We ate before we got here."

"Right. Er - have a seat." Giles motioned towards his couch and his guests settled onto the plush furniture. Buffy sat in the middle and he thought the vampires looked like an honor guard. "What happened?"

Buffy hesitated for a moment before speaking, trying to be concise and accurate for her former watcher. "You know that I left LA, I just wandered. Fought stuff and trained. I don't even remember where all I ended up really but that doesn't matter."

"I knew you would try to locate me using magic so I muddled it." The slayer shrugged. "I wasn't ready to be found. Then I felt something different, like something was touching me, sorta numb like a leech but I couldn't see it."

She rubbed her arms as if cold. "Figured it was Willow being clever so I found a way to block it too." The blonde smiled apologetically. "I know now it was a spell to show if I was alive or not, so sorry I worried you guys."

"How did you manage to break the spell?" Giles couldn't help wanting to expand his knowledge on the matter.

"Some very smelly powder, a toucan, and a rubber ball, not that it matters now."

"Of course it's important, that sort of spell should be imperturbable." Giles removed his glasses and Buffy smiled at the familiar action.

"It's not why were here." Angel interrupted. "We could have told you she was alive over the phone."

"Right, of course." Rupert replaced his glasses on his face and sat back in his armchair. "What happened?"

The brunet vampire leaned forward instead. "What do you know of siring a vampire?"

Giles frowned. "I would have thought you were the expert on that."

"We need to know more of the specifics." Angel ignored the jab.

"Well, a vampire drains a human to near death. The human then drinks from the vampire. When they die, they should rise that night or the next." It was a gross simplification, but it would have to do until he knew what exactly they were asking.

"What about draining part. Does it have to be the vampire?" Spike interjected impatiently.

"I'm not sure. I suppose it wouldn't have to be, but the circumstances would be incredibly rare." Each question seemed to make less sense than the last.

The brunet shot his childe a warning glance. "What about delivery of the vampire blood?"

"You mean injection?" The glasses came off again. "I would think it would have to be drunk."

"But it wouldn't matter if it came straight from a vein, so long as it was fresh?" Spike stared hard at the watcher for an answer.

"This is all completely undocumented." Giles polished his already pristine glasses but looked up sharply as he had a thought. "Is someone planning something? A mass raising?"

"No, nothing like that." Buffy finally spoke up and laid a hand on her companion's arms to calm them. "They were just wondering if it's possible for a raising to go wrong."

The watcher calmed slightly and shrugged. "There are records of intended victims being too close or too far from death when they were exposed to the vampiric blood. They would either not rise, or would end up with a case of anemia and no ill effects."

"No other weirdness?" The slayer prompted hopefully.

"Nothing that the watchers are aware of." Rupert rather hoped the matter was closed.

Buffy, however, breathed deep and took the plunge. "What about a slayer being turned?" She scrunched up her face waiting for the outburst.

"No." The single syllable was crushed and devastated from the Englishman and the three vampires on the couch hung their heads in shame. "It's never been done. Can't have."

"Giles." Buffy began, but she didn't know what to say.

"Just tell me it's not true."

The blonde couldn't lie to her former watcher. "It is true."

"How could you?" Glasses off again as if he didn't even want to look at her.

"It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like? At least tell me you killed the monster that did it!" Ripper leaned forward in his anger, staring at the young woman.

Angel tensed, ready to stop the watcher if he went for a stake and Spike twitched as if slapped. In the middle, Buffy sat up straighter, hands resting on the older vampires' knees. "My sire hasn't been a monster in years."

She kept her voice calm and level. "Now, we came to you for help because I respect and trust you. But if you are going to condemn without knowing the truth, we will leave right now."

The blonde slayer rose to her full, if limited, height and stared at the watcher until he looked away. "Alright. I'll listen."

* * *

"And you don't feel different in the slightest?" Giles asked for the third time, studying the blonde woman as if he could see into her skull.

"Not at all." She looked into the distance, thinking for a moment. "Well, other than getting hungry, I know its blood I want but I don't want to bite anyone. Pig and cow blood is just fine."

Angel had tired of the 20 questions and taken to pacing behind the couch. "So what do you think?"

"Any physical changes? Greater strength, speed, senses?"

"No, no, and yes. Oh, and I don't get lumpies."

Rupert looked at Spike for an elaboration. The blond vamped and pointed at his forehead. "Ah, might I see?"

"I haven't quite got the hang of it yet." Buffy blushed slightly.

Spike leaned close to her ear and whispered for several moments. When he pulled away, the slayer's eyes had changed and she bared her elongated teeth. Giles leaned closer in morbid fascination. "That is absolutely intriguing. Certain features of vampirism have manifested, but some seem to be repressed."

"Seems to me she got all the parts she didn't already have as the slayer."

"Spike, you are brilliant!" Rupert jumped suddenly from his chair and started looking excitedly through the nearest bookshelf.

"Well, yeah." The thin vampire was always slightly put out when people were surprised by his intelligence.

Angel paced around to the front of the couch and kicked his childe's foot. "So what does that mean for Buffy?"

"Let me just look one thing up." The watcher flapped a hand impatiently at the trio and continued his literary search.

Well aware of the length of time it could take the Englishman to research any given topic, the slayer stretched her back and turned to lay down on the couch, pillowing her head on a very surprised Spike's thigh. "Let me know when he finds something."

Not to be ignored, the brunet picked up Buffy's legs and sat down, placing a possessive hand on her knee. Unfortunately, in the young woman's mind, Giles only flipped through pages for 20 minutes before exclaiming. "There has been one case of a slayer being turned before!"

The blond man stopped running his fingers through Buffy's hair as she sat up. "What happened? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Oh." Rupert looked downcast. "Because he immolated her corpse before she could rise."

Buffy flopped back on the lap she had been using as a pillow and sighed. "Great, so I'm the only one."

"I might have an explanation, but I need a second opinion."

"Who?" Angel and Spike asked at the same time.

"Willow."

* * *

"Hi Giles, what can I do for you?" Willow happily took the phone from one of the Coven sisters.

"You are entirely too cheerful at this early hour." Rupert frowned at the bubbly witch.

"Then what are you doing up already?"

"I haven't been to sleep yet." The watcher pushed his glasses up and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you still having nightmares about Buffy?" The concerned frown was clear in her voice.

"That's part of what I needed to talk to you about."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Well, perhaps you should see in person. Do you think you could take a train down to London - if you're free."

"I'll be right there in two shakes of a lamb's tail." The witch giggled at her joke and hung up the phone.

Before Giles had placed the headset back in the cradle, Willow appeared in front of the watcher. "I can make you that tonic again." Slowly, the witch realized she wasn't alone with the Englishman and turned around giving a little wave. "Oh, hi Angel, Spike."

"Well I see you're not Little Red any more." The blond man nodded in greeting, taking in her long white hair.

"I've been doing some serious cleansing work with the Coven, and it sort of stuck. What are you doing here anyway?"

Everyone turned to the sound of the bathroom door opening and Buffy entered the room. Willow's eyes promptly rolled up in her head and she fainted. Giles tucked a blanket around the witch once she was set on the couch and sighed.

"I really should have seen that coming."

* * *

"I knew you wouldn't be good for her!"

Spike held up his hands in surrender, backing slowly away from the angry witch. "You would have done it for Tara." For a moment he wondered if she might conveniently forget her cleansing work and do something nasty but she stopped pointing accusingly.

Willow sighed heavily. "You're right, I did, but that's not the issue now."

The witch got up and joined Buffy in the kitchen. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you."

"I'm sorry I messed up your spells."

"We shouldn't have left you in LA." Willow leaned against the counter next to her longtime friend.

"Nothing else you could have done. I needed to do what I did."

"What did you find in all those cities?"

Buffy shrugged. "People. Lots of people. And a lot of demons."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

The vampire shrugged again. "Not sure I was really looking for anything. Guess I have a long time to keep not looking though."

"Yeah, you do." Willow laughed softly. "So how is it with those two? They start fighting over you yet?"

"It's still so new, we haven't had a chance to work anything out yet." Buffy glanced towards where she could feel the two other vampires. "They're so worried that something is wrong with me."

"Well, lets go see what Giles' theory is."

"Thanks, Wills."

As if nothing had changed in the years they were separated, the young women hugged. Everything was forgotten and forgiven and they went to face the men together. Angel stared broodingly out of a window while Spike quietly debated something with the watcher. Catching sight of the two women, the brunet stepped forward.

"So what's the plan now?"

Giles cleared his throat and looked at Willow. "We're going to see what happened during your raising."

Spike frowned. "And how exactly are you gonna do that?"

* * *

Angel helped move the furniture out of the way as the witch collected the supplies she would need. Buffy wasn't entirely clear on what was going to happen, but she trusted Giles and Willow to know what was going on. Spike finally removed his jacket and sat where he was directed in the middle of the open space.

"Now, Buffy, you need to sit in front of him." Willow gently turned her back to her maker.

"Why's it gotta be Spike, though?"

"Because he sired you." Giles glanced up from one of his massive tomes. "We are going to attempt to recreate the turning."

The thin vampire pulled the slayer back into his lap as she settled on the floor between his legs, pointedly ignoring the angry glowers from Angel. He couldn't resist having the blonde so close after years of wanting her. If he thought sacrificing himself for her in Sunnydale would make him desire her less, he was completely mistaken. Only his respect for his grand-sire made him keep his hands to himself this long.

Slowly, Buffy relaxed into his arms and waited for further instructions. Giles and Willow settled cross legged on either side of the vampires and began chanting in unison. Spike kept his eyes locked on the brunet as he nuzzled into the young woman's neck, pulling her hair away from her throat. The watcher carefully placed the tips of his fingers against Spike's temple and Willow mirrored the action to Buffy.

The blondes were unaware of anything outside the bubble of where their bodies touched. Spike couldn't resist the smooth column of flesh beneath his lips, paying special attention to the almost invisible scars. All of the years he loved Buffy, those scars were a constant taunt. it was the mark of other vampires on her flesh and he had never been allowed to do the same.

Spike's teeth sunk easily through the slayer's cold flesh and her moan went straight to his groin. Before he could think twice about the thick fluid seeping over his tongue, Buffy brought his wrist to her mouth and bit down. The two vampires were lost to the sensations as the watcher and the witch were pulled in after them.

The crouched figure circled the rising flames, eyes never leaving her opponent. Snarling, the figures launched at each other, tearing at eyes and ripping at soft bellies. Desert stars shone on the demon, horns casting shadows on the sugary sand and she slashed at the wild woman. For hours the battle continued, the combatants slowing as exhaustion grew and the sun rose. In the seconds before the sun crested the horizon, the slayer pinned the demon and howled her primal rage. The moment the suns rays touched the struggling pair, their image blurred and melted together until only one figure remained.

Willow and Giles fell away from the vampires and Angel ripped the wrist from the young woman's mouth, breaking the spell. Buffy looked confusedly up at her former lover before jumping away from the man she was leaning against. Spike swayed but remained sitting upright, reaching towards the blonde shaking in his grand-sire's arms. Everyone waited for calm to defend before speaking.

"I know what it means." The white haired witch looked wide eyed at her long time friend. "Buffy still has her soul."

"But that's impossible." Giles countered, cleaning his glasses. "No vampire turns with its soul intact."

"But she did. Don't you see? Slayers were created by forcing a demon into a girl. Vampires are the same thing. But the slayer demon fought the vampire and they sorta merged."

Rupert gaped at Buffy who was reaching towards her maker but was restrained by Angel. "Spike was right. This is remarkable."

"So what does that mean?" Angel looked from witch to watcher, demanding answers.

"I'm really not sure." Giles glanced towards his books. "Perhaps there is mention of something like this in one of the ancient texts but I will need time to research it."

"We're going back to LA. Spike, get your coat."


	6. January 1, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

"You can't just decide something like this!" Spike slammed the door to the office and stalked after the older vampire.

"Sure I can. I'm the boss." Angel pointedly ignored the blond and shuffled papers on his desk.

"I won't leave her."

"You don't have a choice." Frustrated at the continued arguments, the brunet fought to keep his face placid.

"You can't make me leave."

"Want to bet?" It was too much and he let his demon come forward.

"Yeah, I do." Spike responded in kind with a challenging growl.

Angel stopped pretending to look through his files. "You lost Dru to me. Buffy won't be any different."

"Buffy loves me." The younger vampire never learned when to listen and when to fight.

"Not like she loves me!"

"Puppy love!"

"Soul mates." Angel corrected his childe.

"Then what were you doing with Cordelia?"

The question stung, but they had both known from the start that it wasn't going to be happy ever after. "Passing the time."

"I never stopped loving her." Spike made the point softly, not willing to taint it with anger.

"You didn't even have a soul."

"I didn't need one."

Angel hated that truth and resorted to childish taunts. "You will always be an awful poet."

"Dru didn't think so.

"She was insane."

"Only because you made her so."

Another verbal low blow and Angel began to circle the desk towards the blond. "Weakling."

"Ponce."

"Useless."

"Eunic."

"Fop."

"Pansy." Spike let himself be corralled against one wall.

"I hate you." The brunet used his size to intimidate the younger man, pressing into his personal space.

"No you don't." As Angel lowered his mouth towards his pale neck, Spike turned and caught his lips.

Their kiss was harsh and both men took what they could, biting and grinding their bodies together. The taste of blood from split lips only spurred them on until fingers were twisted in hair and nails dug into hips. It had been so long since anyone but Buffy had kissed him like that, and Spike couldn't hold back a needy moan.

At the honest sound, Angel pulled back slightly. "It doesn't mean anything." He wished that tasting the blond on his lips was strange but vampires never forgot. Not really.

"Never does. Just like old times." Spike's hair resembled his name but he didn't try to smooth it back. He just let his hands rest on the older vampire's sides.

Angel jerked away from the touch and wiped his mouth. "Just pack your stuff."

"I won't leave Buffy."

"She doesn't need you."

"I think she should chose." The blond stayed where he was against the wall knowing his complacency would irritate his grand-sire.

"What does it matter?"

"It doesn't."

Angel knew what the younger man was trying to do. "You're trying to prove something."

"No I'm not." Spike studied the nails on one hand.

"You're always trying to prove something."

"You're delusional."

"And you're going to start bleeding if you don't remember your place." It was always easy to resort to violence with the insolent blond.

"20 years and you couldn' put me in my place. What makes you think you can now?" Spike finally pushed away from the wall and stalked towards the taller man.

"200 years of experience, that's what." As if choreographed, their faces changed and they lunged, grabbing each other's lapels.

While they grappled for leverage, the office door opened to reveal a petite woman. At the sight of the men fighting, she used her full volume to get their attention. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Looking like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar, both vampires froze and answered at the same time. "Nothing."

"Nothing? It looks like you two were having a serious discussion." Despite being the shortest of the three vampires, Buffy was intimidating with hands on her hips.

Angel disengaged from the fight, shoving his childe away. "It isn't anything. Spike was just leaving."

"I bloody well was not."

"Shut up." The brunet snapped.

"No, both of you shut up." Buffy used her best 'mom' voice and pointed from one vampire to the other. "I don't care who made who or who's older."

"We were just-"

"Do not interrupt me Angel." Her green eyes flashed dangerously and he wisely complied. "Spike, what were you arguing over?"

"He tried to kick me out." The blond looked smug that his side was heard first.

"I never!"

Buffy ignored Angel's outburst. "And why didn't you just go?"

All of the smugness dropped from his face. "I won't leave you."

Satisfied with the answer, the slayer turned to the tall man. "Angel, why did you tell Spike to leave?"

"I didn't." The brunet tried to deny it but the slayer saw right through it.

"I am not in the mood for games."

"I want you."

"For yourself?" She clarified.

Angel dropped his eyes to the floor. "Yes."

Buffy scoffed disbelievingly. "You're both stuck in the Victorian era. I am not some thing to fight over and possess."

Spike took a step forward to sooth the riled woman. "Of course not."

"Don't patronize me."

"Wouldn' dream of it, pet." Wisely, the peroxide blond stepped back again and raised his hands in surrender.

"Did either of you think to ask what I want?" She looked from one to the other, neither vampire meeting her eyes. "Didn't think so."

Spike tried to reach out to the woman again. "Buffy."

"Just don't." She brushed away his hand and turned on her heel. A moment later, she was gone from sight.


	7. January 18, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

A metallic clang caught Angel's attention as he crossed the lobby and he looked around for the source. Following the faint sounds, the vampire found himself in the kitchen. Spike stood in front of one of the industrial sized stoves, managing several dishes. The vampire let the pots on the stove simmer and turned to a pile of vegetables to dice.

As the brunet watched, the younger vampire moved seamlessly around the kitchen, preparing a large meal. Centuries before, Spike was the only one in their little family that ate for no reason other than he wanted to. They had argued about it when he was newly made, and Angelus accused the former poet of being soft and too human.

To the brunet's surprise, Spike didn't dish up a plate of the pasta for himself. The entire meal was scooped into portioned plastic containers and stored in the communal refrigerator. Angel slipped out of the kitchen before he was noticed. An hour later, Fred went looking for a snack and squealed with delight when she found the pasta.

Three days later, the brunet found himself following the scent of roasting chicken to the kitchen. Instead of lurking in the doorway, he approached the workstation. Spike continued to ignore his sire and rubbed seasoning into a second chicken. Angel watched him work silently, idly playing with a paring knife. The blond was so engrossed in the preparation that he hummed a few bars before tensing and silencing himself.

"I still don't understand why you eat." Angel tried to break the awkward silence.

"I'm not eating, I'm cooking."

"Right, but I still don't understand."

Spike took the knife away and began slicing red potatoes. "I don't expect you to."

The next time Fred opened the fridge and found the chicken, she did a little happy dance and shared it with Gunn. For the rest of the day, the couple could not stop raving to Angel about the kitchen fairy they seem to have acquired. He smiled when they started guessing what would appear next because he realized Spike might care about more than just the food.

When he found the younger vampire cooking next, he made a conscious effort to hand over whatever utensils were needed before they were snatched from his hands. Spike never told him to leave or asked why he was there, just worked around him in silence.

The timer dinged and Spike pulled a beautifully caramelized pork loin from the oven. "I used to cook for the girls when I had a chance."

Angel was taken off guard when his grand-childe spoke first. "What girls?"

"The potential slayers. There was only so many times they could eat Double Meat Palace and pizza."

"Double Meat? That stuff is disgusting." The brunet wrinkled his nose. Even if he were starving, he wouldn't eat anything that came out of one of the restaurants.

"Buffy got it free for working there."

"Working? Why didn't she just ask me for help?" He was constantly surprised by the things he didn't know about the slayer's life.

"You think she would've ever asked?" Spike shook his head disbelievingly. "God knows I offered enough."

Angel pondered how desperate the slayer must have been at the time. Mother gone, bills to pay, and suddenly the guardian of a dozen teenaged girls. "I'm glad you were there for her."

"I wish I could've been there for her more, but I was out of my bleedin' mind for most of it."

"Yeah, I remember how hard it was to come to terms with having a soul again."

"At least Fred doesn't think I'm trying to poison her." The joke fell slightly flat.

In fact, Winifred thought the pork loin was to die for, loudly telling anyone who entered the lobby that she could kiss the cook. Wesley refused to have any of the meal on principle.

An unseasonable cold front moved into the bay area a week later and Spike produced a selection of vegetables and shellfish. The blond never asked Angel to leave the kitchen while he cooked, so he continued to invite himself. When the younger vampire turned to the sink he was shocked to see his sire already scrubbing the potatoes. They quickly adjusted to sharing the space and managed a few minutes of levity by flicking water at each other.

Satisfied that the chowder was simmering nicely, Spike leaned against one of the counters and crossed his arms. "You're better help in a kitchen than Buffy ever was."

"Thanks." Angel mirrored his pose. "I think."

"Then again, the Niblet made some serious culinary disasters." He smirked at the memories. "And Red couldn't cook without burning everything to a crisp."

"Thankfully Fred stopped trying to cook when we left Pylea."

"That girl is definitely odd. Sweet, but odd." Spike had liked the petite Texan the moment he met her. Well, after she had stopped threatening him and pointing a decidedly wicked looking stake at his chest.

Buffy crept around the doorway, ready for the hinges to squeal but even if they had, no one would have noticed. The kitchen was full of the sounds of boiling fry oil and Angel's curses.

"Oww, damnit. Oww, damnit. Oww, damnit."

Spike chuckled to cover his own grimace of pain. "Trust me, the burns are worth it."

"I don't understand why you go to all this effort for a stupid onion."

The blond man sounded scandalized and used his hip to bump the taller vampire. "It's not just an onion, its a bloody piece of art."

Angel bumped back, hissing as another fleck of hot oil landed on his skin. "This is just stupid."

Buffy watched in surprise as the vampires teased each other. It was certainly better than seeing them fighting tooth and claw constantly. The easy way they had begun to move together gave her hope. After she had left them, the blonde had spent a lot of time considering which man she would choose if she were forced to. The only thing she decided was she couldn't decide.

Angel was her first love, sudden, complete, and illogical as it all was, but she couldn't deny it. And the year she had spent with him after Sunnydale collapsed showed her just how thoughtful and caring the brunet really was. On the other hand, Spike drew out her wilder side, playful and daring. But he always had her best interests at heart, even if it meant his sacrifice.

Seeing the two again, Buffy wished it was as simple as having them both but she knew that was only a dream. Spike and Angel would never be able to share anything without squabbling like children, especially a woman. Suddenly, she remembered their original companion, Drucilla. The slayer knew they had both been with her separately, and her mind pointed out they had all been together for decades, quite possibly literally.

Before her mind could run away too much, the older men had fished the onions from the fryer and laid them out to cool. Oblivious to their audience, Spike pulled off a piece of the crispy treat and held it out for his sire. Angel rolled his eyes but took the offered mouthful before looking surprised at the onion.

"That is actually really good!"

"I told you so."

Buffy could practically hear the smirk in her sire's voice and suddenly missed his half smiles and the way he curled his tongue behind his teeth. "I hope you boys were planning on sharing."

It took her full effort, but she managed to keep a straight face as they lept apart and turned towards her. In an instant, Angel was at her side, pulling her into his tight embrace and kissing her temple. The slayer had missed how she had to stretch to reach his lips but she didn't linger. Buffy pulled back and held out her hand for Spike. When he came within reach, she surprised both men by greeting him with a kiss as well.

"I just have one thing to say." The blonde woman made sure she had both men's attention. "I will not chose between you two. If you try to make me, I will leave you both again."

Neither vampire was willing to make the first move for several moments. Eventually, Buffy gave in and smiled. "I think those onions are getting cold."


	8. February 14, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Spike paced around his room, frustration boiling just under his skin which only irritated him further. As he kicked at a chair, he knew he should be celebrating. Buffy was back, business was paying well, and there hasn't been any sign of a new apocalypse in months. Yet even as the proverbial stars aligned for their collective good fortune, the bleach blond man seethed alone in his room.

Another loop around the small room and he startled to find Angel leaning against his door, arms crossed loosely across his chest. "What do you want?"

"I knew you were tense, but I didn't realize it was this bad."

"Go away." Spike resumed pacing, hoping his grand-sire would leave but not really expecting him too.

Finally the silent observation was too much and the blond turned back to the taller vampire. "What are we even doing, Angel?"

"Right now? We're talking."

"I mean here, the three of us. What are we supposed to do now?"

"Keep doing what we've been doing, I suppose."

Spike stared at the brunet, mouth slightly agape. "You know if something doesn't happen, she'll leave again."

Angel looked at his shoes and the younger vampire had an epiphany. "You haven't told her."

"What am I supposed to say? Hi sweetie, sorry I dumped you, but you don't have to worry any more. I won't eat your friends if we have sex."

Spike snorted. "When you put it like that, it sounds bloody ridiculous."

"Which is why I haven't mentioned it." The brunet moved to leave, clearly uncomfortable.

"That's not all it is though, is it?"

Angel silently cursed his childe's ability to read people but refused to answer.

"You could have her all to yourself, so why aren't you sweepin' her off her feet?"

The tall brunet tried to look anywhere but into Spike's blue eyes and failed. "Because she loves you too." He finally gave voice to the knowledge he had carried since the destruction of Sunnydale.

The peroxide blond didn't know what to say so Angel continued. "If I claimed her, she would always miss you."

"And if I took her, it'd be the same thing." Spike kicked his chair again. "This is stupid. Neither of us can have her."

"Or we both could." It was an offhand comment neither of them had seriously thought about. "Except we tried that once."

"Not really. Dru would always pick you over me." The thin man wasn't jealous, simply stating a fact.

"And who says Buffy wouldn't pick one of us over the other?" Angel didn't want to admit it, but he was terrified she might choose her sire rather than him.

"She's already threatened to leave us both again if she had to choose." It took all of the blond's self control not to get his hopes up. "We made it work before."

"And we've actually been getting along." The brunet agreed. "Think we might have a shot at making this work?"

"I'd do anything to make her happy."

"So you'll tell her then?"

"Not on your unlife." Spike smirked playfully. "I want to see how long it takes her to hit you."

* * *

Spike's insistence that he talk to Buffy right away made the brunet want to dig in heels and refuse. The fledgeling vampire ought to be thrilled at the news, but somehow Angel knew he wouldn't be so lucky. If his years with the slayer taught him anything, it was that she did not take even goodnatured dishonesty well.

Feeling as if he were walking to the gallows, the tall vampire reached the lobby only to find it empty and silent. He knew Fred and Buffy had been working on something in the office, but they were nowhere in sight. Suddenly, the big kitchen doors were thrown open and Buffy came running out, holding something over her head.

"I got the last Hot Pocket!"

Fred slipped through the doors before they closed and chased after the blonde. "No, that's mine!"

Unaware of their audience, the two women raced around the circular couch until Winifred caught the slayer and secured her prize. "No power in the 'verse can stop me!" The Texan smiled broadly and skipped back into the kitchen.

Buffy remained flopped on the couch, trying to catch the breath she didn't need when she spotted the men. "Hey, you got him to come down finally."

Spike stepped forward before Angel could change the subject. "Yeah, we had a nice chat, and Peaches' got something important to tell you." The thin vampire smirked at his sire's pinched expression. "I'm just goin' to see if there's anything to eat in the kitchen."

There was a time when that sentence would send Buffy running to protect Fred, but she ignored Spike and looked expectantly at Angel. "I don't see any bruises, so you two must have figured out how to talk instead of fight."

"Er - Yeah, it wasn't anything important though."

"Spike seemed to think so."

"Really, it was nothing at all." Angel prayed silently for some demon to come crashing through the front door and save him, but nothing happened.

Buffy sat up and studied the taller man. She knew when he was trying to hide something, and it aroused her curiosity. "If it's nothing, why don't you tell me?"

The brunet wasn't buying her uninterested tone and desperately searched for another topic. Just as he was beginning to panic that he would have to tell her, the lobby doors burst open and Gunn stumbled in carrying his ax and covered in violet slime.

"Angel, Spike! Something's loose in the sewers. It's coming up all the manholes."

At the sound of the commotion, Spike came running out of the kitchen, straight for the weapons cabinet, followed by Fred. Angel and Buffy caught the swords and stakes the blond vampire tossed their way and headed for the sewer access while Gunn and Winifred went back to the street. As they dropped into the tunnels, Spike took in the way his sire avoided looking at the slayer while she stared hard at his back.

"So, did he tell you?"

Buffy heard the whispered question and squared her shoulders. "Angel, don't think our conversation is over."

"Kind of more interested in killing whatever's in these tunnels."

Before the slayer could demand to know what the vampire was hiding, they discovered what was trying to make its way into the city above. Spike couldn't stifle his laughter upon spotting what looked like hundreds of purple smurfs, all only 6 inches high. The smurfs didn't take kindly to being interrupted in their exodus and rushed at the vampires.

Everyone swung blindly at the floor only to discover that the tiny demons exploded when struck, splattering goo in every direction. Buffy switched from using the edge of her sword to the side, sending them flying into the walls, dramatically reducing the amount of guts that got in her hair. Spike yelped as one of the smurfs managed to bite his leg and stomped on three of the creatures.

When all of the purple demons were exploded on the walls and the vampires, Gunn dropped down the ladder, looking around for any lurking survivors. "Fred's looking for any other places they might have come up."

"Have I mentioned I hate Keebler cookies?" Spike wrinkled his nose at the goop covering his boots.

Angel was looking down a split in the tunnels. "I'll check for any more down here."

"Oh no you don't." Buffy jogged to his side. "I'm not letting you out of my sight until you fess up."

"Fess up to what?" The brunet tried to look innocent with purple slime smeared on his face.

"Whatever it is you're not telling me."

They set off down the tunnels, glancing around for any more extradimensional smurfs. "Spike should have kept his mouth shut."

"So I should just ask him?"

"No, he's making me do it."

"So just spit it out already." Buffy threw her hands up in exasperation. "How terrible can it really be?"

"I can't lose my soul again."

The slayer relaxed slightly. "I don't want you to either."

"No, I mean I can't. It's stuck. The curse is broken."

Buffy stopped walking as what he was saying sunk in. "You mean Angelus is gone for good?"

He sighed and turned back to the petite woman. "He is a part of me, but you don't have to worry any more."

"How long?"

No matter how he answered, Angel knew he was in trouble. If he lied, she would know. But if he told the truth, she might be inclined to use the sharp sword she still held. He decided evisceration was better sooner rather than later. "Since before Sunnydale was destroyed."

Buffy just stared open mouthed at the taller man in disbelief. "And you didn't think to tell me?"

"You were fighting the First, then you were recovering. I didn't want to push you into something." Angel tried to explain why he didn't tell her, but she shook her head and walked away.

* * *

Spike was just leaving his room, freshly showered, when Buffy appeared, still drenched in purple slime. She held up her finger for silence before he could speak.

"Don't go anywhere." Her tone left no room for argument and she stomped away to her own room.

The vampire looked up and down the hallway before deciding he should just stay in his room until the slayer told him otherwise. 20 minutes later, Buffy returned, wrapped in a fluffy robe and hair dripping down her back. Spike stood from his seat on the bed, ready to ask what had happened, but she stalked closer and wound her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly.

Finally familiar with the steps, he tugged the smaller woman flush against his body and ravaged her mouth, hands smoothing down her sides before resting on her hips. Spike growled with need, the little touches since Buffy rose had been driving him mad. The petite woman tugged at the tight black shirt until it was untucked and ran her fingers over his stomach.

The robe fell away from her pale shoulders and Spike followed the newly bared skin with his mouth. Buffy deftly flipped open the older vampire's belt and jeans before digging her thumbs into the hollows of his hips. In return, he bit down on her collarbone with blunt human teeth. Her growl drove his arousal higher and they broke apart. The taller man was thankful he had left his boots off when the slayer pushed his pants down in one swift movement.

He just managed to get his shirt over his head when the blonde woman bit down on one nipple. Buffy wasted no more time in pushing her sire down on the bed and straddling his hips. Spike thought he might die of happiness, having the slayer in his arms again, and he never wanted to let her go. Unwilling to wait any longer, she lifted her hips and let his cock slip between her damp folds before slamming back down in one smooth motion.

They moved together like it was the first time, but Spike knew exactly where to touch. Buffy breathed her pleasure to his skin and kissed like he held all the answers on his lips. It wasn't long before he could feel her movements become more erratic and he slipped his hand down to rub at her clit. A few more moments and the slayer's body clenched down on his cock as she came.

It drove Spike over the edge as well and they relaxed into a thoroughly pleasured puddle where they lay. The peroxide blond let his fingers dance over Buffy's back, waiting for the inevitable moment that she would jump out of bed. As the moment lengthened, he began to relax and simply enjoy the feeling of her pressed tightly against him. But eventually the slayer shifted and stretched.

"I've missed that." Buffy traced the tip of her tongue down the column of his neck. "I thought my arm was going to fall off with all that masturbation."

Spike never needed to be told twice when it came to the blonde slayer's satisfaction. In one quick motion, he rolled them over and smirked. "Allow me to help you with that, pet."

* * *

Angel passed by Spike's room after he had showered only to hear wanton moans and the slap of skin on skin. He quickly turned away and locked himself in his room. Even as jealous as he was of his grand-childe, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at the blond man. Buffy and Spike had been together for years without him and as long as they were happy, he would leave them be.

The master vampire was so engrossed in his brooding, he didn't notice the footsteps in the hall and startled at the knock on his door. Buffy stood in the hallway, smiling hopefully.

"Hi. I talked to Wes and they shouldn't need us tonight so I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk."

"A walk?"

"Just the two of us." She nodded enthusiastically before sobering slightly. "I just thought we might talk a bit."

Assumptions automatically began filling his brain and breakneck speed. She was leaving him, taking Spike and leaving LA. Or she blamed him for being turned and wanted her revenge. Maybe the slayer would stay but still pick her sire over him and he would have to watch them together.

"Relax, it's not like I'm going to dust you."

The only option was to go with her and listen to whatever decision the blonde slayer had made. "Sorry, where did you want to go?" Angel quickly grabbed his jacket and followed Buffy.

"I need to drop in on a friend, but it's not far." Buffy lead the way from the hotel towards a quiet demon neighborhood.

"So, where's Spike?"

"Asleep. I wore him out."

Angel ground his teeth to hide the jealousy and changed the subject. "Who are we going to see?"

"I need to pick something up from an old friend."

"Didn't know you had any other old friends in LA."

Buffy slipped her hand into the brunet's. "He's a friend from Sunnydale and I gave him something to hold on it if I didn't make it out."

Before the master vampire could ask anything else, they arrived at a door covered in peeling bile yellow paint and she knocked. Angel instinctively tensed, ready for anything, but the slayer just smiled brightly. "Hiya Clem!"

The demon that peeked through the gap was wrinkly and sallow and his red eyes darted from Buffy to Angel. "Slayer? I heard you were dead."

"Only a technicality."

Clem looked at the tall brunet again and his eyes went wide. "Angelus? Oh no, I ain't seen Spike in years."

Buffy stuck her foot in the door as he tried to shut it. "Clem, calm down, we're not looking for Spike."

The wrinkly demon stopped trying to slam the door and looked hopefully at the pair. "Then how can I help?"

"I came to get the things I gave you."

"Well, I had to sell a bunch of stuff after your little stunt with Sunnydale." Buffy's displeasure showed in her face because Clem quickly clarified. "But I didn't sell those! Let me go get them."

Angel really couldn't imagine how the slayer came to know such a bumbling, floppy eared demon so he let her do the talking. "How have things been for you?"

"Oh, the usual. Few games of poker here, some kittens there." Something crashed in the other room but Buffy just rocked back on her heels and waited. "So what's this about only technically bein' dead?" Clem reappeared in the doorway.

The slayer leaned close and mock whispered. "Can you keep a secret?" Clem nodded till his ears flapped. "Lets just say I won't be getting a tan any time soon."

In awe and horror, the demon looked at Angel and gasped. "No, he couldn't have."

Buffy laughed goodnaturedly and shook her head. "Angel didn't do it, Spike did."

Clem dropped something metallic into her hands and gaped. "And he's still alive?"

"Yeah, you two should go out sometime." Buffy tucked the object out of sight into her pocket. "But I don't want him coming home with any kittens."

Surprising both men, the slayer gave the demon a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Thanks a ton, Clem. I'm glad you're doing alright."

"You too, kid."

The vampires left the thoroughly confused demon and continued on their walk. Only when they were several streets away, Angel turned to the petite woman.

"So... Clem?"

"Yeah, I met him at a game of kitten poker." She waved away the question as if she often hung out with demons.

"You played poker for kittens?" The surprise was evident in his voice.

"No, I was just drinking and watching Spike." Buffy quickly tried to make it sound better than it did.

"Drinking with Spike?" He knew his grand-childe could put away the liquor, but Angel couldn't imagine his golden goddess drinking, least of all with the thin vampire.

"God, there is no way for me to get out of this one, is there?"

"Nope." The brunet smirked. "And here I thought you were a good little girl."

"I was good. I only let Clem watch Dawn once, and that's just because Spike was gone." Her voice petered off as she realized she was only digging the hole deeper.

"You used to let him watch your little sister?" Even before the incident with losing his soul, Buffy never let him near Dawn.

"Yeah, only when I wasn't around." Buffy cringed at the hurt in his voice. "Look, I don't want to talk about any of this."

"Let me guess, Spike used to watch soap operas with your mother too."

Fury washed over the petite blonde and she whirled around on Angel. "No, he didn't, because she was dead and then I died and he was too busy taking care of Dawn while you played detective in LA."

Instantly he wanted to take back his words but she wasn't finished. "You didn't even come to my funeral or you would have seen how much everyone needed you."

The slayer poked him hard in the sternum. "You weren't there when he nearly died protecting Dawn multiple times. He kept her safe and protected the scoobies without having a soul, and never asked for anything but to let him love me."

Tears began to cascade down her cheeks and Angel pulled her to his chest. "I couldn't even do that for him."

Standing in a deserted street in the middle of the night, Angel held the love of his long unlife and whispered comforting words as she cried over another man. "Hush, it's all in the past now."

"And I know I hurt you too, but I want to make it right." Sobs shook her small frame until they petered out. "I only kept two things from Sunnydale."

Angel let her pull away enough to reach into her pocket. From her fingers dangled a large silver cross he recognized as the one he gave her the first night they met. Strung on the same fine chain was a battered ring in the shape of a skull. Of all the things she could have saved, these were the things she gave to someone else for safekeeping.

"It's Spike's. He gave it to me under a spell."

"Willow's engagement spell." Angel remembered his childe complaining that he never got the ring back and smiled.

"He told you?"

Rather than answering with words, the tall vampire leaned down to kiss her. When he pulled back, he carefully wiped the tears from her face. "If you can find the space in your heart to love us both, I'm more than fine with that."

"You what?" Words failed the blonde woman and she just stared up at him.

"Spike and I talked, and this way you don't have to choose between us."

"I don't believe it, I must be dreaming." The slayer smiled hopefully, resisting the urge to bounce with glee.

"If you are, so am I." Angel kissed the slayer again before sharing her grin.

The couple walked home hand in hand, stopping to kiss whenever the mood struck.


	9. April 11, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Buffy stretched and opened her eyes as the sun went down. It wasn't often that they weren't woken up for a case and she planned on taking full advantage of the lay in. There were occasions that the slayer hated how heavily her lover slept, and then there were times she enjoyed thinking of creative ways to wake him. Smiling wickedly, the young vampire worked her way down her bed partner's body, licking the scratches she had left the previous day.

As she made her way under the sheet, Spike murmured something into the pillow but didn't wake up. Buffy sucked a bruise into the vampire's hip before mouthing his limp cock. She thanked the Powers That Be that she didn't have to breathe and hummed around the rapidly hardening flesh. It wasn't every day that the vampire woke to such an enthusiastic greeting but he wasn't complaining in the slightest.

"Hmm, pet, what'r you doin' down there?" Spike rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with one hand and slipped the other under the sheet, curling his fingers in his childe's hair.

Buffy grinned wickedly and sucked hard, rolling his balls between her strong fingers.

"Bollocks, girl!" The thin man couldn't help rocking into the tight wetness of her mouth.

He was just ready to close his eyes and go along for the ride when someone knocked on the door and walked in. "Hey, Spike, you seen Buffy?"

If it had been anyone else walking into his bedroom, the vampire might have said something nasty, but he liked Gunn. "Nope, haven't seen her this mornin'."

The human quickly looked down the blond man's bare chest to the unmistakable lump under the sheet. He blushed furiously and spun around. "When you're done, Giles is on the phone in the office."

Spike was perfectly happy to let the watcher wait on the long distance call, but Buffy pulled away from his painfully hard cock. "Oh, please don' stop, pet."

She kicked the sheet away and looked up at her sire. "But it's Giles, he might have found something."

"An' he can wait a few more minutes." The thin man thrust his hips and poked the slayer in the jaw.

Rather than go back to what she was doing, Buffy patted his hip and hopped out of bed. "You'll just have to wait."

As he watched the petite woman pick up her clothes, Spike flopped back on the bed, considering if she would stop him from taking things into his own hands. But before he could grasp his firm length, she tossed his jeans on his lap, narrowly missing his tender bits with the belt buckle. "Alright, I'm coming."

A saucy smirk was thrown over her shoulder and she bounded out of the room, leaving the peroxide blond to follow. When he finally got down to the office, Buffy was seated sideways in Angel's lap, phone pressed to her ear. Spike could hear the pointless chit chat and had his own mischievous idea. He curled his tongue behind his teeth and stalked towards the couple in the big office chair.

Making sure Buffy was watching, the blond man leaned down and thoroughly kissed his grand-sire. The rare occasion of tasting the older vampire without fighting made his still hard cock twitch uncomfortably against his jeans. Angel caught on to what the younger man was doing and pulled Spike closer to straddle his knee and press his groin against the slayer's hip.

The petite woman ground her bottom down into Angel's growing erection and tried not to moan in frustration as the two men pretended to ignore her. She must have lost the battle for silence because Giles stopped talking about the progress the other slayers had recently made.

"Buffy, is someone else there?"

Hearing her name jerked the blonde woman back to the matter at hand. "Oh, yes, sorry. Spike and Angel are here."

She angled the headset so they could all listen to the Englishman. "Good, I think it's important you all hear this."

"Thrill us, Rupes." Spike remained pressed against his childe's soft curves.

"Yes, well," The could all practically hear him polish his glasses unnecessarily. "I've been looking for any prophecies regarding you three, just in case."

Buffy playfully smacked Angel's hand as it slipped between her knees towards the hem of her skirt. "I haven't found anything that even remotely indicates your involvement."

"That's good, right?" As much as the brunet appreciated Giles' work on the subject, he was much more interested in the the woman in his lap.

"Perhaps. But I would think that such a rare occurrence as a slayer being turned would imply a prophecy of some kind."

"Any chance you're just missing a volume?" Spike only put so much stock in fate and prophecies.

"They don't come in volumes, but I have come across something interesting."

Trying to pay attention, Buffy squirmed away from the fingers tracing the shell of her ear without falling out of the chair. "Do tell."

"Well there seems to be some concern in the prophetic community over someone they refer to as the Broken Seer. They seem to think most of their foreknowledge is completely innocuous, like what the weather will be in a week."

"I'm sensing a but in there." Angel prompted, running his fingers through Spike's loose curls.

"Some of the prophets think this seer may have made a serious prophecy to a pair of men. The exact term being 'kin of blood but not blood kin.'"

The brunet snorted. "That sounds like the stuff the Master used to preach to the Order."

"What order?" Giles demanded.

The trio of vampires stopped teasing each other for a moment. "The Order of Aurelius. It was supposed to be some group of supreme vampires descended from the Master. Darla and Drusilla were involved but I wanted nothing to do with it."

"My knowledge of the Master's machinations is limited but I will look for anything linking the Order to the Broken Seer."

"Thanks for the update, Giles." Buffy brushed her fingers over a strip of bare flesh where Spike's shirt had ridden up. "We'll keep an eye open for anything on our end."

The watcher made his goodbyes, already distracted and Buffy eagerly dropped the phone back in its cradle. She turned to her sire and thoroughly ravaged his mouth, licking the taste of her other lover from his lips. Angel watched interestedly and pulled her long blonde hair away from her neck. The slayer tried to shift to give him easier access but the chair lurched, threatening to send them all crashing to the floor.

Not wanting to interrupt the first intimacy they had all shared, Angel reluctantly lifted the slayer out of his lap to spare them the indignity of falling later. To his surprise, Buffy turned around to lean back into Spike's arms while holding out her hands to the brunet. Both blondes looked hopefully at the taller vampire, half afraid he would refuse their silent offer.

Angel took a hesitant step towards the pair and leaned down to kiss the woman he loved. Buffy felt safe, held firmly between the two men and wrapped her arms around the brunet's shoulders. Spike hooked his fingers into his grand-sire's belt loops to make sure he wasn't going anywhere soon and mouthed down the side of his childe's neck. It had been decades since the elder vampire had felt such a part of something.

Yet as he felt Spike's muscles shift under his hands, it wasn't the dominance battle he had played over Drusilla. The two men used their strength to press closer to the woman in their arms rather than shove each other away. They were in tune with the other's needs, backing towards the solid desk until the blond man could brace their combined weight. Together the men pushed up Buffy's skirt when she lifted her leg to reveal she wore nothing underneath.

Cool fingers alternated smoothing and kneading her thighs, stoking the flame in her belly but keeping it from burning out of control. Buffy felt like she was floating between her lovers, free to just feel. Against her back, Spike was the embodiment of eroticism, all blindfolds and cold handcuffs. But Angel was romantic passion, with roses and silk negligee and the slayer could never ask them to change.

Desperate to feel the blonde woman's skin, both men tore at their belts and pants before lifting Buffy's legs around Angel's waist. The brunet sunk into her slick depths and hummed in approval. Spike ground himself against the slayer's pert bottom and reached around to fondle her clit. He barely resisted sinking his teeth into his childe's neck as she moaned in pleasure of the double onslaught.

Angel controlled the tempo and focused on long deep thrusts to drive the other two wild and he was succeeding. Buffy finally broke the kiss and pressed her face into the brunet's shoulder, whimpering with every flick over her clit. Spike took the opportunity to lock lips with his grand-sire over the slayer's shoulder, reveling in the mingled tastes of his lovers.

Buffy's orgasm took them by surprise as she went stiff and sunk her teeth into the brunet's shoulder. It had been years since he had been drunk from and the rush of pleasure made his knees weak. Spike kept them upright and ground hard against the slayer until he came as well. They were left a quivering mass of shaky legs, unable to stand on their own.

"We need to do that more often." Buffy finally giggled into the taller man's chest.

"I wouldn't say no, pet."

"Next time you're doing all the work." Angel groused, hoping his chair was close enough to fall into.

"All the work? I feel like I've got splinters in my arse." Spike breathed in the scent of sex and smirked self satisfied at their situation.

"If you're not careful you'll definitely end up with wood up your ass."

As the implication sunk in, Buffy blushed and glanced shyly at the tall brunet. "Have you two ever...?" Unable to even finish the question, she hid her face in Angel's chest.

When the older vampire didn't answer the half asked inquiry, Spike whispered in a low voice. "Might have done, once or twice."

He watched the blush creep down her neck and followed it with his tongue. "You've thought about it, haven't you, pet?" Buffy didn't want to answer. She wanted to crawl away in embarrassment.

"Nothin' to blush about." His blue eyes met his sire's. "I think about it too."

Angel simply studied the younger vampire. They had been together with and without Drusilla when Spike was newly made but none of it could be described as romantic. Or entirely willing since Angelus liked to use it as a punishment as much as a reward. Suddenly the memory of the blond vampire stuck crippled in a wheelchair came to mind. Spike had tried not to recoil as Angelus waltzed back into his life and took back Drusilla and threatened to take him as well. It didn't even cross his mind that Buffy was the one that put him in the wheelchair.

Finally he found his voice and carefully pulled away to straighten his pants. "That was a long time ago."

Spike saw the pain pass through the older man's dark eyes before he made some excuse to flee the office and left Buffy in her sire's arms. "Don't worry about him, pet, just old memories."


	10. May 5, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Since being reborn as a vampire, Spike embraced the call of his blood, killing, fighting, and fucking whenever the desire took him. Generally he got exactly what he wanted, and that suited him fine. The exception was when Angel was involved. Angelus was always easy to goad into a good brawl followed by a thorough pounding, but his ensouled self was less obliging.

Since getting a taste of how things could be as a trio, Spike wanted more. He remembered how it felt to be held down by the larger vampire and ravaged from top to bottom. Angelus was always more of a fan of pain than pleasure, but the blonde man wanted to see what Angel could do with that same body. Yet every time he managed to get them alone and began pushing buttons, the brunet would close off and refuse to play. Buffy helped relieve some of the tension, but once he got it into his head that he wanted something, he rarely gave up.

The only thing that the elder vampire seemed to respond to, was the slayer's gentle touch. Angel welcomed her embraces and never turned away from her kisses, but he would hardly even look at Spike. If getting a rise out of the brunet wasn't producing results, the thin man would have to adjust his strategy. But he knew that any drastic change would made the taller man suspicious.

The blond man forced himself to be patient, first making an effort not to wear his long jacket in the hotel and to add a little color to his wardrobe. It had worked on Buffy years before, and Angel would be no different. He was also aware that the brunet preferred his bleached curls loose and messy so he didn't fuss over slicking his hair back. When he was rewarded by his sire's gaze for an entire afternoon, Spike smiled.

It only took two days of open body language and and a little bit of seduction for the older vampire to give in. Buffy was out investigating reports that a man's one night stands were all turning up pregnant and Spike was leaning against the lobby counter, waiting for the phone to ring with anything interesting. The others had taken a quiet night off to see a show, leaving Angel in his office.

After an hour, he was wishing he had gone to the show with the others. Boredom and sexual frustration had the vampire so distracted he didn't notice he was no longer alone until a hand settled lightly on his back. Spike jumped in surprise but relaxed when he saw it was only Angel.

Neither man said anything for a long moment but after what felt like forever, the brunet's hand grew heavier. Spike let himself be pulled against his grand-sire, not quite sure what the rules of the game were until they were kissing. It wasn't the battle of dominance the blond was used to, just a soft caressing of lips. The younger vampire wondered if he had ever been kissed like that before and only Buffy's pitying kiss after Grace's torture compared.

The brunet was perfectly content to simply let their bodies rest together while they explored each other's mouths but Spike was much more a man of action. Every moment that Angel's hands remained still on his sides drove the peroxide blond wild. He could feel the taller vampire's arousal pressed against his hip and wanted more. Impatience finally got the better of him, and the younger man bit hard at the tongue caressing his own.

Angel hesitated for a moment but remained gentle with his childe. Denied the treatment he desired, Spike instead tried to maneuver himself between the counter and the taller vampire. When he was kept in place, the blond man felt lost. He didn't know how to give without first taking. The rules were different when they were on even footing and it was unnerving.

Spike pulled back enough to speak, growling with desire. "Just hurry up and take me."

The brunet froze completely. "I'm not him anymore." All the younger vampire could do was stare in confusion at his grand-sire until Angel backed out of arm's reach. "I can't treat you like that."

"Did you hear me complainin'? You can be all romantic with Buffy, but I need a good hard shagging."

"I won't be a monster again." Angel shook his head emphatically.

"Bloody hell, mate. I'm not asking for a beating, just shag me rotten." The brunet just shook his head again and Spike sighed in exasperation. "The past is the past."

"No it's not. How can you even bear to let me touch you after what I've done?"

"Maybe because I kinda liked it? Did that ever cross your mind?" Spike crossed his arms and stared levelly at the older man. "Did you ever notice that I only really pissed you off to get what I wanted?"

"You can't mean that. I was evil."

"So was I, but you can't change the past."

"Is that how you don't let what you did destroy you?" The brunet hoped for some insight to lessen his own suffering.

"Well yeah. Soul or not, I can't change anything I did and I can't make up for every crime by saving innocents so I don't even bother."

They had had this conversation before and it was always the same song and dance. Angel spent every moment trying to wash the blood from his hands little by little by rescuing people. However, his grand-childe was relatively unchanged by regaining his soul and didn't fight his past.

"But you still help us."

"Why wouldn't I? It's the right thing to do."

"I can't just let go of it like that." The older vampire knew that even though the curse was broken and he couldn't lose his soul, he would forever be tormented by his sins.

"That's fine, just let Buffy and I help where we can."

"You don't need me messing everything up."

"Right, cause I never mess things up on my own." Sarcasm came easily to the blond and sometimes he wished for a bit of Angelus' arrogance to counter Angel's abysmal self esteem.

"Not with Buffy."

"You mean you don't know?" Spike had figured that Giles had gleefully told the brunet about his indiscretion.

"Know what?"

"Why I got myself a bleedin' soul." Angel just shook his head. "I hurt her - or I tried to. Scared her pretty bad. Scared myself too." Even though years had passed, Spike hated thinking about that night.

"But she forgave you." The statement was simple and non-judgemental.

"Doesn't mean I forgave myself."

"But you love her."

"Right to the soddin' end, and so do you." If Angel wanted to point out truths, Spike could too.

"But you don't need me."

"Of course we need you. I can't replace you, never even tried. I thought we talked about this weeks ago." The younger vampire threw up his hands in exasperation.

"I won't have her stuck between us like Dru was."

"She wouldn't be. We were meant to be, you me and Buffy." It had been a while since the blond had wanted to shake his sire in frustration. "Even Dru knew it. She knew before I did, broke up with me so I'd go crawling back to Sunnyhell and end up with the slayer."

"She did used to say I'd only be happy with blondes." Angel agreed, a faraway look as he remembered his former family.

"Maybe she wasn't as crazy as she sounded."

"No, I broke her even before I sired her. Wanted to see if it would destroy her visions or make them stronger." Angel was disgusted at his rampant cruelty, preferring not to think of the heinous crimes he committed.

"What did you say?" Something in the older vampire's words caught his attention.

"She really was insane."

Fear and recognition began to prickle at the back of Spike's mind and he dreaded the answer. "No, about the visions."

"Dru was a seer before I turned her."

"Oh bollocks."

* * *

"What happened here?" Wesley stood in the doorway, mouth agape at the piles of his books spread out across every horizontal surface.

Spike looked at the mess surrounding him and tried to look guilty. "Sorry abou' the mess, Angel'll clean it up."

"Did you have to pull out every book we own?"

"I needed to look something up."

"Every book?"

"Well I didn't know which one I needed."

The former watcher quickly snatched the tome away from the vampire. "I hardly suspected you could read."

"Har-de-bloody-ha. Give that back."

"What are you even looking for?"

"Anything on someone called the Broken Seer and the Order of Aurelius."

"Is there something we should know?" Wesley asked seriously. Anything that could get Spike to open a book had to be bad news.

"Don't know yet. There could be a prophecy, but no idea what it could be." The blond vampire gave up on the books and left the lobby.

* * *

As soon as he realized that Drusilla was the implied broken seer, Angel locked himself in his office to think. Kin of blood but not blood kin made more sense to the vampire. It was only logical that the two men it referred to was Spike and himself. The brunet prepared to relive the time he spent with Drusilla. 150 years of killing and blood were better locked away, but it was the only way to learn about a prophecy that had never been recorded.

Cities were the landmarks of their slaughters. They drifted where they pleased, feeding on any that strayed across their path. Darla went straight for the richest and finest places, talking her way into the parties, mingling until she tired of the game. Spike followed his sire faithfully, indulging Dru's every childish whim, still full of romantic notions of their forever love.

Angelus enjoyed taunting the young vampire by taking Drusilla when he pleased, making Spike watch or occasionally letting him join in. His grand-childe looked up to him for guidance and praise and how to treat the woman they both would claim.

A man on each arm, Drusilla prowled the streets, looking for anything that caught her fancy. Spike and Angelus never knew what would delight their pet on any given night so they followed willingly. From down a side street there came the thin wail of a child for its mother but the delicate woman ignored the plaintive cries. The brunette slipped free of the men and danced up to a shop window displaying dozens of dolls of different sizes.

"Oh look at the pretty little girls. I want to play with them."

"They're just dolls, Dru." Spike looked disinterestedly over her shoulder.

Angelus kicked in the wooden door of the shop and held out his hand to his childe. "If you want to play, be our guest."

Drusilla giggled brokenly and clapped her hands in delight. "Come Spike, the girls have been naughty."

The flighty woman skipped over the threshold and made a vague humming noise as she took in the many dolls lining the walls, all dressed in silk and velvet. Angelus watched her dance, brushing her fingertips over shiny shoes and finely curled hair. Drusilla picked up one of the porcelain girls before frowning and putting it back. Spike sighed in boredom and crossed his arms.

"Let's find some real girls to play with, love." None of the words seemed to register. "Aren't you peckish?"

Suddenly, the brunette woman picked up a doll with long blonde hair like sunshine and gazed sadly at it. "She'll steal you both."

Spike turned away and gave an exasperated huff. "Daft bint."

Angelus just smiled indulgently. "Do you like that one?"

Drusilla looked sharply at the older man. "No. She's a bad girl. Takes what's mine." The yellow haired doll was dropped to the floor but it didn't crack. "She'll be the end of every one of us."

Spike slipped an arm around his sire's waist and nuzzled into her neck. "How about we play a little game?"

The bird boned brunette spun away and started frantically digging through the shelves, carelessly knocking dolls aside. "I have to find it!"

Unfortunately, the younger vampire didn't back away quick enough and he was knocked to the floor. Angelus gave him a hand up and smirked. "Something tells me she'll be busy for a while."

Spike blinked twice before he realized what his grand-sire was alluding to. "That desperate for a shag, gramps? Girls aren't doing it for you any more?"

"Don't be crude, William."

"It's Spike now."

"Let's see if you still remember your name by the time I'm done." Angelus promised darkly, smashing his mouth against the fledgling's.

It was a dangerous game, playing with the brunet vampire. Europe feared him for a reason but Spike dared. He fought back and pushed the older man away just enough for Angelus to hold him down a little harder. Anyone that would tup the former poet had to work for it. The master vampire pressed his grand-childe's cold body into the workbench and untied his trousers.

Drusilla continued muttering to herself among the dolls while the two men found pleasure in their flesh. When they finished, Angelus licked a smear of blood from Spike's shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry, I left some for Dru."

The woman in question stood deathly still just to their side, head cocked to the side. "All the doors will be closed."

Spike pulled his trousers up and glanced uncertainly at the older man. When Angelus didn't acknowledge the strange comment, they pretended nothing had happened. The door suddenly sliding open brought Angel back to the present, still with the taste of the former poet's blood on his tongue. Before Wesley could ask for an explanation, the vampire had brushed past him and went looking for Spike.

* * *

The door to the younger vampire's room wasn't closed when he knocked and Angel paused in the doorway. When Spike wasn't immediately visible, the investigator took a hesitant step into the room. No matter the decade, the blond's habits didn't change. Liquor bottles littered the counter by the sink and a television buzzed in the corner. The only thing in the room with any taste was the blood red silk sheets on the bed and for a moment, he wondered what the younger man would look like spread out on it.

"Spike? I think I remember something."

The blond stepped out of the bathroom, drying off from a shower but didn't bother wrapping the towel around his slim waist. "What is it?"

"Brussels, 1892. A doll shop by the river."

Spike stared blankly at his grand-sire. "There were a lot of doll shops, mate."

"I need you to remember. Dru was talking while I - took you over the workbench."

"On, yeah, that one. You were more enthusiastic than usual."

Angel didn't smile or look away from the younger man's eyes despite the light tone. "I think Dru made the prophecy then."

Spike stopped flaunting his well built body and wrapped the towel around his hips. "So what was it?"

"I don't know. I remember she was talking to herself but I wasn't listening."

"What's this? Finally admitting your perfect memory might not be so perfect?"

"It's only that good when I'm concentrating and I had something else on my mind at the time." Angel hated how easily the younger man could irritate him.

"We'll I can't imagine what that could have been." Spike curled his tongue behind his teeth and let the towel slide down his compact hips.

The brunet let his childe stalk closer, damp hair still dripping down his bare shoulders. "You always did have an abysmal memory." Too soon, Spike stood inches away, not touching but making Angel want him to.

They stood perfectly still for several minutes, the blond giving his grand-sire a way out. He didn't blink when Angel finally moved, curling the fingers of one strong hand around Spike's neck and pushed him down to his knees. It wasn't his favorite activity, given the gratuitous one sidedness of the pleasure, but he would take what he could get.

Angel used his free hand to open his trousers then let it rest carelessly in the bleached curls before him. Spike started teasing the half hard flesh to full attention, remembering the hours of instruction he had been given at Angelus' hand. The ensouled brunet obviously had a lot on his mind when a clever trick with his tongue didn't even produce a thrust back into his mouth. Unused to being ignored, the blond pulled back and bit the inside of the taller man's thigh with blunt human teeth.

The unexpected pain made him hiss and tighten his grip on Spike's hair. "Careful what you sink your teeth into." A quick tug and Angel guided his mouth back to work.

While Spike hummed around his hard cock, the brunet let his mind wander, thinking about the time in the doll shop by the river. Everything that wasn't the compact vampire's body was vague and out of focus in his memory. Angel chased the fleeting words he could remember, letting sentences coalesce over the noise of porcelain shattering.

The blond vampire swallowed every last drop and continued mouthing the softening flesh until Angel suddenly used the grip on his hair to pull his mouth away. Spike landed sprawled on his ass but the older man was staring at the wall, seeing right through it. Before the shorter man could get up or speak, the brunet tucked himself away and left the room.

Spike threw a two fingered salute at his retreating back and growled in frustration at his throbbing cock. Blue balls were rapidly becoming the bane of his existence. Uninterested in his own hand, all the blond wanted was a good hard shag and he wished Buffy was back.

As if summoned by his thoughts, the slayer appeared in his doorway. "What's up with Angel?"

"Ponce has a stick up his arse as usual." The blond man remained on the floor, frown turning into a devious smile. "Speaking of wood..."

Buffy looked down his lithe body and gave him a coy smirk. "Why sire, it looks like you could use a hand."

"Always need you, pet." Spike helped the golden slayer straddle his bare hips and silently swore to buy her more skirts. Pants just made it too hard to get what he wanted.


	11. May 30, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Spike wasn't surprised to see Wesley pouring over books at Angel's side when he entered the lobby. Since the brunet had managed to remember Drusilla's mutterings, they had done nothing but search for an explanation, often with Giles on the phone. As a man of action, the blond had quickly volunteered to handle any cases that came their way in the meantime.

"Anything new?"

Angel grunted in acknowledgment of his childe but didn't answer the question. Instead, Wesley took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "All of the codecs are void of any mention of the Broken Seer, Drusilla, or a Bloody Slayer."

"What's the prophecy say again?" Spike crossed his arms over his chest.

"The blood soaked slayer holds the keys to the gates and all the doors will be closed." Angel recited without looking up.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Bloody Slayer is Buffy." The blond vampire waited for his sire to agree.

"All of the slayers in history were involved in bloody kills or met a bloody end." Wesley pointed out before reaching for another book.

"But no slayer's been turned before. Vampires are the masters of all thing bloody." Sometimes Spike hated how the former watcher overlooked the most obvious things.

The human looked like he was about to argue but he was cut off by Angel's sigh. "He has a point. She most likely is involved considering our history with Drusilla and Buffy."

"Speaking of which, where is Buffy?" The younger vampire glanced around the lobby for his lover.

"I thought she slept with you last night."

"No, I assumed she stayed with you since her room was empty."

Angel's entire attention went from the books to the blond man. "Then where is she?"

Wesley tried to be helpful while still perusing the book. "I saw her come back yesterday. Said she was going to take a bath."

Without a word, the vampires agreed to look for the young woman. When they reached Buffy's room, they found the bath full of stone cold water. Angel turned on his heel and left the room, almost jogging to Fred's room.

The brunet pounded on the thin door until the tiny woman peeked out cautiously. "Hiya boss, what's wrong?"

"When did you see Buffy last?"

"Yesterday, when she got back from cleaning out a vampire nest near the pier."

Angel growled and spun away, and Spike knew he was looking for Gunn. "You let us know if you see Buffy."

"Did something happen?"

"Nothin' to worry about yet." Spike followed his sire.

* * *

Angel paced the lobby of the Hyperion, idly swinging a broadsword in his frustration. "No one has seen her since yesterday, Lorne hasn't heard anything, and Willow still can't even tell if she's alive or not!"

Fred stood close to Wesley and wrapped her arms around herself. "Maybe she wandered off again, like before."

"She wouldn't have left again!" The brunet vampire practically snarled at the Texan.

Despite their breakup, Gunn still looked out for the tiny woman and stepped in front of the vampire. "Why don't you back off?"

"Because Buffy didn't run away!" Angel shouted at the humans before turning away and pacing the lobby again.

Spike finally pushed away from the counter and placed himself in his grand-sire's path. "How about we start killing demons until someone talks."

"I tried that." The older vampire snarled and stabbed at the empty air with his sword. "There has to be something we can do."

"All we can do is keep looking. Gunn, you try your old crew. Wesley, Fred, keep at the books, see if Giles has come up with anything. Angel and I will start with Lorne and go from there." The bleach blond man took charge and made sure no one had any questions.

* * *

Buffy regained consciousness slowly, trying to sense her surroundings. A wave of vertigo washed over the petite woman when there was no feeling of up or down and she couldn't move. She was floating in complete darkness and the slayer screamed in terror at the claustrophobic feeling. It had only been a few years since she had woken in a sealed coffin, 6 feet in the ground but the fear hadn't dulled.

Adding to her panic was the way the pitch blackness swallowed up every scrap of sound the instant it left her lips. Eventually she stopped screaming and tried to feel for anything around her. Her hands touched nothing and the air was completely devoid of any scent. There was no sensation of any kind. The slayer was floating in nothingness and it seemed to pluck at her edges, trying to pull them apart and devour her.

It could have been days or minutes when hunger began to gnaw at her belly, twisting her insides. The craving grew as each second passed until desperation drove Buffy to sink her teeth into her own lip. The blood was sluggish and cold and only made the pain worse. She screamed into the absolute silence until her voice was cracked and broken.

All she dreamed about was the heavy bags of crimson blood from the butchers. The dark fluid spilled down her throat and pooled on her tongue, rich with life and power. But as starvation began to sink its claws into her mind in earnest, she knew pig blood wouldn't be enough. It would never satisfy the thirst that made her lips crack and dead blood well to the surface.

Buffy knew exactly how human blood would taste despite never having killed. Pig blood could never compare to the real thing and she wondered why she had never fed from a human before. Her teeth would sink easily into the soft flesh of her victim, and their heart would pump their strength into her mouth and fill her belly. And she knew she would feel warm for the first time since dieing. Their death would be delicious.

There was a flash of something else as she floated in nothingness, a different type of hunger. Buffy almost remembered what it was like to have company. Hazy faces passed through her dreams, never quite solidifying into recognizable forms, but she knew them. Her body ached for blood but also touch, to feel her sire's hands on her bare skin again. The blond man had to be out there somewhere and he would have blood to satisfy her. The air began to liquefy and bend around the bound slayer until she was fully surrounded and then she winked out of existence.


	12. June 12, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Fred hugged the large tome to her chest and moved to return it to the bookshelf when she had an idea. "What if we're just over thinking this prophecy?"

Gunn jumped at the distraction. "How would you simplify it then?"

"Well, we're pretty sure that Buffy is the Bloody Slayer, because she's a vampire now. What if we take the rest of it at face value."

Even Wesley stopped reading and listened to the tiny Texan as she elaborated. "Gates and doors are other names for portals, so maybe Buffy is going to stop any interdimensional travel to Earth."

"That would be impossible. The amount of power needed-" The former watcher automatically began arguing against the theory.

"Cause it makes so much more sense if it were literal doors." Fred argued back, sarcastically.

Spike sat up on the circular couch in the lobby. "The chit might have it. Dawn was the key to a hellgate, but she was made from the slayer's blood. And then Buffy closed the portal before it destroyed everything." The vampire refused to mention that it had required the blonde woman's death.

"So we need to find Buffy's little sister?" Gunn tried to anticipate their next step despite not really following their logic.

Spike got to his feet wearily and shoved his hands in his pockets. "We need to find Buffy. Again."

As the words dissipated into the large lobby, a shimmer began in the air between Spike and the humans. Before anyone could shout any kind of warning, a portal opened and dropped a crouching figure into the hotel and vanished with a sucking pop. The blonde vampire recognized the apparition the moment she lunged towards the closest human.

Fred instinctively raised the book she was holding as Buffy grabbed her hair and shoulder. The vampire's teeth snapped together against the leather cover rather than on the Texan's shoulder. All three men jumped into action the instant the brunette woman was knocked to the floor. Gunn raised his axe, but hesitated as he realized it was the slayer.

Wesley sent a solid right hook into the blonde woman's temple, but she hardly moved at the impact. The slayer grabbed the book and pushed it away, barring Fred's throat. But before she could bite the tiny human, Spike bodily tackled his childe, using his momentum to pull her away from the brunette. They both jumped to fighting stances and faced off.

"Buffy, what happened?" When her name got no response, Spike feared the worst.

He didn't recognize the love of his unlife in the feral golden eyes staring hatefully back at him. Something had changed the slayer and if he couldn't reach her soon, he would be forced to kill her. But even as the thought passed through his mind, Spike knew he could never stake Buffy. A half assed plan formed and the blonde man circled the petite woman.

"Hey pet, haven't seen you in a while."

Buffy ignored his words and sidestepped an obvious punch. Out of the corner of his eye, the lithe vampire spotted his target before attacking in earnest. The slayer had always been better than him in a fight to the death, but that wasn't his goal. Stepping back, as if unbalanced, the blond man kicked his childe in the sternum as hard as he could.

The kick sent Buffy reeling backwards until she crashed through the heavy wooden door leading to the sewers. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed Gunn and Wesley helping Fred to her feet and he charged after the younger woman.

As Spike drove the young vampire deeper into the sewers, he kept up a constant dialogue of anything that came to mind, hoping something would trigger a non-violent response. Buffy became less offensive and more defensive as he talked. She cocked her head slightly to the side at the mention of blood and licked her lips.

The momentary lapse in her concentration was the slayer's undoing when they reached the blond man's destination. A feigned swipe at her head made Buffy step back and Spike slammed the iron gate closed. It took a moment for the feral vampire to realize she was trapped. She took two steps closer to the gate and hissed in anger.

"Now, now, kitten, you just stay put."

The older vampire watched his childe test the locked gate before turning away to search for any other exit. Fortunately, all of the pipes leading into the room were too small for even a child to squeeze through. Despite her strange behavior, Spike was overjoyed to see the slayer. He feared the worst when she disappeared from the Hyperion and now he knew she was at least alive, even if she was more animal than woman.

Buffy verified there was no other way out of the cistern and returned to the gate. Her eyes were vicious yellow and focused completely on the blond man. She felt as if she recognized him but couldn't remember anything about him except blood and dreams when there was nothing else. The thin man made her hungry and she licked her lips, caressing each razor sharp tooth with her tongue.

Spike followed the path of her tongue with his eyes and forced himself not to mirror the movement. Her eyes were sharp and wicked but belied no sign of recognition. When he finally tore his eyes away and took in the rest of her, he saw the other changes. Buffy's hair was dirty and flat, and her face was more defined. Even her skin seemed papery and thin, making the faded scars on her bottom lip stand out.

He had seen scars like that on a vampire before and they were undoubtedly from biting their own lip in desperation for blood. Spike took a step closer to the door and longer to touch his lover. She had been taken, starved, and who knew what else to turn her into a mute beast. If anyone else had been in the sewers with him, they would have told him to stake the slayer out of pity. But he could never hurt her, not even to save the world.

The thin man slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell. He usually hated the mobile device, but recognized its occasional usefulness. Such as now when he needed blood for Buffy but would not leave her side.

_"I found Buffy. Cistern under Silver Lake Rec Center. Bring blood."_

Text sent, he knew he wouldn't have long to wait. No matter what he was doing, Angel would instantly drop anything to see Buffy after losing her again. While they waited, Spike kept up a running commentary on everything that had happened since her disappearance. Nothing seemed to register as words, but she listened intently to every syllable, as if she had never heard sound before.

20 minutes had hardly passed when the slayer's eyes flicked to the tunnel behind Spike. A few seconds later, he heard what caught her attention. Someone was sprinting through the tunnels towards them. Angel came to a halt upon spotting his lovers standing on opposite sides of the metal grate. Buffy tensed at the sudden arrival, but familiarity prickled at the back of her mind. And then the scent of blood wafted to her and she salivated, trying to reach through the gate for the bag in the brunet's hands.

"What happened?" Angel couldn't bring himself to move as he took in the blond woman's gaunt face and desperate yellow eyes.

"Just give her the blood."

Hesitantly, the older vampire handed over the fresh blood and watched in morbid fascination as the slayer bit directly through the plastic. Buffy always prefered to drink from a glass when she fed and it was disconcerting to watch her take great swallows from the bag like it was a human neck. Within seconds the bag was empty and the petite woman dropped the plastic to the floor before licking her lips clean.

Spike began to open his mouth to speak, but before the words left his lips, Buffy's face turned from satisfied to pained and she clutched her stomach. All of the blood she had just consumed was vomited on the floor, filling the air with its coppery tang. Both men wanted to comfort their lost lover but they silently waited for her to move from where she collapsed next to the crimson puddle.

Angel suddenly turned to his grand-childe and demanded an explanation. "What the hell happened?"

"I don' have a bloody clue." Spike shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the unconscious slayer. "One minute Fred figured out the prophecy, and the next Buffy popped out of nowhere and tried to bite her."

"Wait, Fred figured out the prophecy?"

"Yeah, something about Buffy closing all the portals to Earth."

"That's impossible." The brunet waved away the younger vampire's words and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I know, but she got in the hotel somehow."

"Has she said anything?"

"Nothing. But she was listening to me, like she should know what I was saying." Spike gave in to the tension and turned away from the cistern, shaking his head in confusion.

"She's obviously been starved, but I don't know what else could have happened. It's only been two weeks."

Neither of the men noticed that Buffy had woken up and approached the gate, laying her hands across the bars. The air began to warp around her hands and arms before expanding enough for the petite woman to step through the portal. She passed effortlessly through the bars and approached her sire.

Spike nearly jumped out of his skin at the tentative touch on his arm and spun face to face with Buffy. Hesitantly, she slid her hand up his leather clad arm, exploring the well worn texture before stepping closer to wrap her arms around his neck. The young vampire used all of her senses to remind herself why she knew this man. Instinctively, he allowed his own hands to settle on the blonde woman's hips and pulled her close.

Angel stood perfectly still as they embraced, thinking that it was strangely beautiful seeing them together. But the moment Buffy fit her head into the crook of Spike's neck, it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The slayer bit into her sire's neck before the brunet could shout a warning. At the unexpected pain, the blond man gasped and stiffened, but quickly motioned for the older vampire to stay back.

Buffy drank until his knees began to weaken, but Spike held the petite woman close, wanting to give her every drop if she needed. Just when the blond man was afraid he might pass out where he stood, the slayer released him and stumbled back against the closed grate of the cistern. She raised her hand to brush across her lips and to Angel's surprize, the yellow faded from her eyes. A look of pure horror came over the young vampire and she tried to cover her face with her hands.

The brunet reached out to his lover, calling her name softly, but she pressed harder against the gate and a sob escaped her lips. Before either man could come any closer, Buffy squeezed her eyes shut and disappeared into a portal. Spike wavered on his feet and stared blankly at the spot his childe had been. He had so many questions and no answers as he touched the seeping wound on his neck. Angel gently touched his grand-childe's shoulder before leading the way back towards the Hyperion.

* * *

Rupert Giles was proud of the fact that he did not startle easily. However, he was taken completely off guard when he left his kitchen with a fresh cup of tea and almost ran straight into someone tumbling out of a portal. The sudden appearance made him drop his tea and backpedal towards the nearest weapons cabinet. But he paused in grabbing a sword from the rack when the figure merely lay where they fell on the floor and didn't attack him.

The former watcher look a closer look at the intruder and gasped when he recognized the blonde hair. "Buffy? What happened?"

All thought of weapons left his mind and he knelt next to the slayer. Only then did he realize she was crying and hiding her face. Giles threw his arms around her thin frame and comforted her until her sobs ceased and her shaking eased. Without looking at the Englishman, Buffy began to speak.

"I woke up in the dark. I couldn't see or feel anything. There wasn't even any scent. I don't know how long I was totally alone."

"It's been 13 days." Giles helpfully supplied. "How did you get out?"

"I was starving and desperate. Things started slipping and I couldn't even remember my name. I'm Buffy Anne Summers. I know that now, but I didn't then. Something changed and all I know is I was suddenly in the hotel, attacking Fred. God, she's probably so mad at me."

"But she's alive?"

"I - I think so. Spike tricked me into a cage and Angel brought blood. But it was all wrong, it made me sick." Buffy stared through the couch and remembered heaving the blood all over the floor. "I did something. I got out and Spike let me feed. That's when I remembered everything."

"And how did you get here? Did someone create that portal?"

"I think I did."

The watcher frowned but didn't pull away from the vampire. Research would be mandatory, but in the meantime, he would help Buffy however he could. After a few more moments, she shifted slightly on the cold floor and looked at her former mentor. There were more wrinkles around his eyes then she remembered, and suddenly she realized that she would never look any older.

Rupert felt the moment for comfort had passed and he move to stand up. "Lets get you something to drink and I'll call Angel."

The watcher reappeared from the kitchen with a glass of pig's blood and held it out to the blonde woman. Buffy took a deep breath and took the mug. She tried to drink it, but something about the scent made her stomach roil and threaten to make her sick again.

Giles picked up the phone and punched in the familiar number for the Hyperion Hotel, hoping it would be Angel or Spike that answered. When it kicked over to the answering machine, the watcher hung up and immediately called again. Eventually, someone would answer. Only after the 4th call did someone pick up.

"We're busy, just leave a message!"

"Angel, it's Giles."

"Watcher?" The vampire in LA paused in hanging up the phone. "No offense, but it's been a hell of a night so we'll talk later."

"I know where Buffy is."

"Where? Is she alright?"

"Calm down. She opened a portal and dropped straight into my sitting room."

"You know she can do that?"

"Buffy told me what happened." A scuffle on the other end of the phone cut off Giles' next sentence and Spike came on.

"Rupes, we figured out the prophecy."

"You did? What is it?"

"The blood soaked slayer holds the keys to the gates and all the doors will be closed."

"But what does it mean?"

"We think it means Buffy will close all the interdimensional portals permanently."

"My god, the amount of power that would take would be immense."

"I thought it would be impossible but then Buffy showed up from wherever she's been."

"I'll see if I can find anything here and I'll bring Buffy back as soon as I can."

Angel responded instead of Spike. "Just be careful. We don't know what she could do."

"I will."

When Giles hung up the phone again, Buffy had moved to a couch and curled up on her side, the glass of blood undrunk. She appeared to be asleep until the watcher gently touched her hair out of concern. Her large green eyes opened and silently questioned his conversation in the other room.

"Angel and Spike are very worked about you." Buffy nodded but otherwise didn't move.

"They would like you to come back, if you feel up to it." The slayer remained still for half a moment before nodding slowly.

"They've figured out the prophecy." Giles saw the apprehension and nervous curiosity in her delicate face. "And seeing you're new powers, I'm inclined to agree with them."

Finally, the blonde woman sat up on the couch. "What's supposed to happen?"

"You're going to close all portals to and from Earth. Permanently."

The young vampire gaped at her former teacher. "I can't do that."

"I think you just might be able to."

"But why would I want to?"

"Closing the portals would mean demons and creatures from other planes couldn't come to Earth."

"Oh. That is a good reason."


	13. July 5, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Spike learned over a century ago that one of the tricks to living as long as he had, was always adapting to the situation. Times change and the vampires that didn't keep up became easy pickings for slayers. That was part of the reason he had arranged the truce with Buffy years before. But being adaptable didn't make it any easier for the blond man to watch his lover feed from Angel's wrist.

The moment Buffy reappeared in the lobby of the hotel for the second time after being taken, they all pretended it hadn't happened. And they could have kept up the fantasy that nothing had changed, except the blonde woman was still unable to stomach the taste of pig or cow blood. Fred understandably didn't want to be left alone with the young vampire and Angel took the opportunity to appear the champion again.

When even hunger couldn't get Buffy to swallow the animal blood, the brunet gorged himself before sitting on the edge of his bed and offering his wrist to his lover. Starved for time with the slayer, Spike would watch and silently seethe. Angel may have been his grand-sire and Buffy's first love, but he always felt he had a stronger claim on the woman. It should be his job alone to feed and care for his childe.

And yet, even in his anger and jealousy, Spike couldn't help being excited by the scene. No matter how much a vampire fought his nature, blood and sex would always win. Angel gently slipped his fingers into Buffy's hair as she drank, making her moan in pleasure and shift on her knees. The brunet let his eyes slip shut for a moment and didn't notice the blond man move.

Spike came to stand next to his childe kneeling on the floor and slipped his hand under her hair to rest possessively on the back of her neck. Angel felt a tug on his wrist and looked up at the thin man before he was being kissed senseless. Caught in the middle of the two men's battle for dominance, Buffy let her teeth slip from her lover's wrist in order to nuzzle into the peroxide blond's crotch.

The distraction was sufficient to make him pull back slightly, giving the young vampire enough room to turn and deftly unbutton his jeans. At the touch of Buffy's cool mouth on his rapidly hardening member, Spike completely forgot about everything that had happened in the last few weeks. Not to be left out, Angel palmed the woman's breast and fought for ownership of the kiss.

Angel wasted no time in striping off his own pants before lifting Buffy off the floor, pushing up her long skirt and settling her in his lap. The blonde woman ground her hips appreciatively into the older man's erection and continued to tease Spike with her mouth. With all the frustration and abstinence over the last month, the tall vampire didn't last long and came hard before sagging to his knees.

While he recovered, Spike was treated to a front row view of the blonde woman sinking onto the older vampire's cock. Buffy threw back her head and moaned wantonly. With blunt human teeth, Angel bit her neck and shoulder as he flexed his legs, thrusting deep into his lover. A wicked thought came over the thin man and he leaned forward, licking from the base of the brunet's cock across the slayer's clit.

Buffy spread her legs wider on the older vampire's lap and drove her fingers into Spike's hair. He didn't need to be told twice and happily put his clever tongue to work. Caught between her lovers, the slayer let the sensations wash over her until the dam broke. Angel let her come down from the high for half a moment before lifting her limp body and thrusting harder.

Spike watched his grand-sire's balls draw up before he let out a relieved groan of pleasure and went rigid. The moment passed and he collapsed back on the bed, pulling Buffy with him. The blond man remained on the floor until the slayer raised one shaky hand towards him. Angel didn't complain when the lithe man climbed up on the bed and pressed close. No one wanted to break the spell and admit they had to return to the real world and the mystery of the blonde's disappearance and portals.

* * *

Wesley flashed a raised finger at the bartender and propped his elbows on the counter. He knew he shouldn't be in the bar after Buffy's disappearance and reappearance, but he had simply needed to get out of the hotel. Despite having split up almost a year before, Fred and Gunn still shared stories and jokes, unintentionally excluding the former watcher.

The whiskey went down with a delicious burn and he caught the bartender's eye for a second. Wesley stared at the drink for a long time before raising it to his lips but before he could tip back his head and swallow, someone sat on the stool to his right. Given his reason for drinking, he wasn't good company for anyone at the moment and turned to tell them off.

Of all the people he expected to see staring back at him, she was the very last. "Lilah."

"Hello Wes."

"Aren't you supposed to be rotting in a shallow grave somewhere?"

"Hardly the welcome I was expecting after our relationship."

"We weren't in a relationship."

"You have a dollar bill in your wallet that says otherwise."

Hearing those words pass the dead woman's lips made his blood boil under his skin. Very deliberately, the former watcher pulled out his wallet and a wad of cash for the bartender, clearly keeping the marked bill on top. When he looked at the brunette woman again, her face was impassive.

"It hardly matters now since you never struck me as the type for a little necrophilia."

"What do you want Lilah?"

"I have a message."

"And what is it?"

"You and your little gang should enjoy life as much as you can before you can't." She stated matter of factly.

Wesley scoffed in disbelief. "Wolfram and Hart is resorting to threatening us?"

"Oh, it's not a threat, it's some friendly advice."

"And you're telling me this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"You, yes. The rest of your gang, no."

"Quite sentimental in your unlife."

"Seeing as it's your precious Bloody Slayer that's going to make everything possible, I might as well."

"Make all of what possible?"

"The review, of course."

"Review?"

"By the Senior Partners directly, and something tells me they will be cleaning house."

"Only if we don't stop them like last time."

"Oh, that won't be possible." Lilah tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled wickedly. "When Angel is ready, tell him to come to my office with the girl."

"Why?" Wesley didn't trust the undead woman in the slightest.

"Because we have the key to Buffy Summers' powers." Lilah looked at the former watcher one last time before getting off the stool. "Goodbye Wes."

He weighed Lilah's words as he ordered another drink. Knowing her, it was probably a trap. But there was always a chance that they were playing a larger game. She had never directly tried to kill any of them after all and had even helped them on occasion. Wesley conveniently forgot that her help usually only came when her job was at stake. Drink finished, the Englishman left the bar and went looking for Angel.

* * *

"I don't trust her." The brunet vampire continued to shuffle through papers on his desk as Wesley stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't trust her either."

"Well then for once we agree." Angel finally looked up at the human, letting his irritation seep into his voice.

"Who don't you trust?" Spike casually slipped in behind the former watcher.

"Lilah." His grand-sire spat out the name like it was poisonous and threw himself into his chair.

"Okay." The blond vampire drew out the word, taking in the tense posture and deeper than usual scowl. "Anyone want to fill me in?"

"Lilah says Wolfram and Hart has the key to Buffy's powers." Wesley couldn't look at either of the undead as he gave the condensed version. When it came to their blonde lover, they were not the most logical of creatures.

"What kind of key?"

"I don't know."

"I don't care. We're not going anywhere near them." Angel made it very clear he no longer wanted to discuss the matter.

"Maybe they could tell us what happened to her." As always, Spike didn't know when to leave well enough alone.

"They're probably the ones that took her."

"Would they do that?"

"Lilah said Buffy would help the Senior Partners to manifest on Earth, so I believe they could." Wesley sighed in resignation.

"Then we have to get whatever this key is and stop them." A direct plan of attack was always best in the blond's opinion.

"Knowing them, we'd playing right into their hands." The tall man dismissed the suggestion.

"We can't just ignore them. What if something else happens to Buffy? I won't let that happen."

"Angel, you know they'll just kidnap her again if they have to." Wesley knew he didn't have to remind anyone in the room of just how dangerous the law firm was.

The master vampire stared at the wall, carefully weighing their options. If they refused to play Wolfram and Hart's game, the firm would simply force them into action. But if they played along, they would undoubtedly lose the slayer. Since they couldn't just not play, their only choice was to change the rules.

"We'll go tomorrow night, but Buffy stays here."


	14. July 6, 2005

Anything recognizable is the property of the appropriate owners. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

This fic diverges after Buffy ends and between season 4 and 5 of Angel.

**Warning:** There will be gore and smut along the way. Please don't read if you're not of legal age in your country.

* * *

The Line of Aurelius

Fred couldn't help being a bit jumpy around the slayer after the attack even though she knew it was a mistake and now was the time to face her nervousness head on. Angel and Spike went to confront Wolfram and Hart while Wesley and Gunn waited in the sewers as backup. It was the Texan's job to keep the slayer in the hotel.

Unable to completely hide her trepidation, she made her way to the basement where Buffy was sparring alone. Once the vampire tired of practice, Fred had to keep her busy until the others returned which was easier said than done. Following the sound of slapping flesh and grunts of exertion, the petite woman descended into the basement.

But when Fred could finally see the entire room, it was empty. She knew there was nowhere to hide in the concrete room and no way to sneak around behind her but the hairs on her arms prickled as if being watched. Terrified that Buffy had been taken again, she turned to check the rest of the hotel and shrieked to find the slayer standing right behind her.

The blonde woman reached out and caught Fred's flailing arm as she jumped back and slipped off the step. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

Settled back on the step, the Texan clutched her chest and laughed nervously. "I just thought you were still sparing."

"Oh, I popped upstairs for some water." Buffy gestured with the bottle in her hand.

Fred felt slightly trapped on the stairs with the vampire and tried to edge around towards the lobby. "I'll just let you get back to it then."

Buffy immediately stepped out of the way to let the intellectual pass but paused. "Wait, where is everyone?"

The brunette's heart sank and she scrambled to think of anything to distract her from the empty hote. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about Sunnydale."

"Ok, but did they all go on a case?"

"No idea. Why was the hellmouth under the high school?" Fred tried to force her heart rate to slow but it had a mind of its own.

"I never figured that one out."

"Is the entire town really gone?"

"Yeah. Swallowed right up. Why didn't anyone say they were going out?" Buffy glanced around the lobby.

"Is it true Spike died in the Hellmouth?"

"Fred, what is going on?"

"No-nothing." The petite Texan squeaked hurriedly.

Buffy was completely unconvinced. "Are you stalling me?"

"Everyone should be back any minute."

"You are trying to keep me here." The slayer was righteously indignant at being left out of anything concerning her powers. "Where are they?"

Before Fred could think of a believable story to keep the blonde from running off, she stepped sideways through a portal and vanished. The Texan was left staring at empty space and cursed.

"Frack."

* * *

Angel hated the Wolfram and Hart law offices with a passion. Every time he ended up in the building he had to make tough choices and play the Senior Partner's twisted games. The only satisfaction he got was when he had shown up with only Spike at his side, Lilah hadn't looked happy.

"I thought you were supposed to bring the other blond." She kept her voice even and refused to rise to the bait. The firm's plans would not be so easily derailed.

"It's been awhile since Spike's been out and he deserved a treat." The brunet vampire stood in the spacious office like he belonged there while his grand-childe remained by the door, arms tight across his chest.

Lilah's face soured at the flippancy. "Then there's no point in you being here. I only got a present for the slayer."

"I hope you kept the receipt because she's never coming near you." Spike snarled dangerously but hardly moved a muscle where he stood.

"But how wrong you are William."

The blond vampire uncrossed his arms and took a step closer to the undead lawyer before he was stopped by his grand-sire. "What does that mean?"

"It means you haven't won and I've got a little story to tell."

"It had better be a story about what happened to Buffy." Angel made sure the younger man wouldn't attack again before turning to listen.

"All it took was some time alone to unlock her full strength." Lilah leaned casually against her desk and smirked. "Once she holds the key, her power will be magnified by the innocent blood she's spilled and the Senior Partners will finally be able to pass through to Earth."

Dread filled Spike's heart at Lilah's words. There was a time he was certain Buffy had never tasted human blood but what if she had when she was taken. Angel was also trying to think of a way out of their mess when the air by the window shimmered and solidified into a portal. Still clad in her sparring clothes, Buffy appeared in the office.

"I'm glad you're here." The lawyer smiled falsely and reached into her desk. "I have something for you."

"Don't touch anything she gives you!" The blond man shouted at his childe but she didn't hear him.

Waves of power rolled off the delicate metal artifact and danced enticingly across the slayer's skin. It was 10 inches long and square in the middle, but the ends tapered to slightly curved points. If not for a lack of handle, it could be some kind of weapon.

Before either of the men could stop it, Lilah dropped the silver artifact into Buffy's waiting hands. Instantly, the power flooded her petite body and the vampire threw back her head and screamed. The sound tore at the older men's hearts but there was no way to stop the disaster from occurring.

Lilah stared over the blond woman's shoulder at the place where the air was churning and darkening and she laughed delightedly. "I did it! I did it!"

Thankfully, Buffy's screams stopped only to be replaced by an unearthly rumbling that reverberated in their chests as the portal expanded and thinned. Angel's eyes watered and Spike fought the instinct to slap his hands over his ears. Before their very eyes, the portal stopped growing and something seemed to push angrily against the ethereal membrane between planes.

The slayer gripped the key tighter, her face changed, and she locked eyes on Lilah. "No, you haven't."

"But, you can't. You have to open the portals!" Faced with an incredibly powerful and pissed off slayer turned vampire, the lawyer blanched and tried to back away.

"My Watcher taught me well." Buffy reached within herself for the unfathomable well of energy and focused. "In life or death." She pictured each and every Wolfram and Hart building in the country. "I have never spilt innocent blood." And then the entire world as every building sank through the earth leaving only broken pipes and dust.

Lilah didn't see the portal opening directly behind her as she backed away. Her surprised scream was abruptly cut off by gateway closing with a pop. Spike could see the strain the power was putting on her small body and he wanted to take a step closer. He wanted his childe to let it go and be finished with the Senior Partners but Angel didn't dare move, he just gently called her name.

At the sound of her name, the slayer opened her eyes and everything went unnaturally silent. The portal in the office bulged larger before collapsing violently in on itself, exploding with blinding white light. Buffy felt the shockwave pass around her but was completely alone when she opened her eyes. Angel and Spike were gone.


End file.
